Washington, D.C. – The Commercial Spaceflight Federation is pleased to congratulate two of its member companies, Armadillo Aerospace and Masten Space Systems, for winning an initial NASA test flight contract as part of the Commercial Reusable Suborbital Research (CRuSR) Program.  The first round of the program, an open competition for small businesses, was formally kicked [...]

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Washington, D.C. – The Commercial Spaceflight Federation is pleased to congratulate two of its member companies, Armadillo Aerospace and Masten Space Systems, for winning an initial NASA test flight contract as part of the Commercial Reusable Suborbital Research (CRuSR) Program.  The first round of the program, an open competition for small businesses, was formally kicked off by NASA earlier this year with a Request for Quotations for commercial reusable suborbital flight services.

As part of the CRuSR awards, Armadillo Aerospace will perform three flights of their Super-Mod vehicle and Masten Space Systems will perform four flights of their Xaero vehicle, during fall and winter 2010.  These flights “will allow the two companies to perform test flights of their experimental vehicles near the edge of space,” according to NASA.

“As strong advocates for the CRuSR program, the Commercial Spaceflight Federation could not be more pleased to see the program move from concept to first test flights in such a short time period,” said Bretton Alexander, President of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation.  “It was only six months ago that the Commercial Spaceflight Federation co-organized a science conference at which nearly 300 researchers and educators learned about the potential of the new commercial suborbital vehicles being built by Armadillo Aerospace, Blue Origin, Masten Space Systems, Virgin Galactic, and XCOR Aerospace, and we are pleased to see that NASA has responded to this interest.”

“We congratulate Masten and Armadillo on being selected for initial test flights and look forward to future rounds of CRuSR selections.  It will be truly exciting to see all the opportunities for low-cost science, education, and research that these commercial suborbital vehicles will enable,” added Alexander.

NASA Chief Technologist Bobby Braun, whose Space Technology Program will host the CRuSR Office starting in Fiscal Year 2011, stated in a NASA press release that,  ”These two awards are just the beginning of an innovative teaming relationship with industry to provide affordable access to the edge of space while evaluating the microgravity environment for future science and technology experiments,” and added, “CRuSR represents the sort of government-commercial partnership that will facilitate near-space access at affordable costs.”

NASA’s full press release can be found at http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2010/aug/HQ_10-203_CRuSR_Awards.html

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Washington, D.C. – The Commercial Spaceflight Federation is pleased to announce that Andrews Space, Inc., DCI Services and Consulting, MEI Technologies, Special Aerospace Services, and SRA International have joined the Federation as Associate Members. The Commercial Spaceflight Federation now includes over 30 leading aerospace companies.
Bretton Alexander, President of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, stated, “It [...]

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Washington, D.C. – The Commercial Spaceflight Federation is pleased to announce that Andrews Space, Inc., DCI Services and Consulting, MEI Technologies, Special Aerospace Services, and SRA International have joined the Federation as Associate Members. The Commercial Spaceflight Federation now includes over 30 leading aerospace companies.

Bretton Alexander, President of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, stated, “It is very exciting to have these innovative companies joining the Commercial Spaceflight Federation. Each of them is contributing unique skills and assets to our industry, and each additional company better enables us to accomplish our mission of promoting the growth of the commercial space industry.”

The new associate members of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation made the following statements:

• Jason Andrews, CEO of Andrews Space, Inc. stated, “Andrews strongly supports the CSF’s efforts to promote and develop a robust commercial space industry within the US focused on developing and sustaining critical existing and emerging markets.” (Headquartered in Seattle, Andrews Space, Inc. was founded in 1999 to be a catalyst in the commercialization and development of space, and is an affordable integrator of aerospace systems and developer of advanced space technologies.)

• Chad Brinkley, President of DCI Services and Consulting, stated, “DCI is excited to work with like-minded entities to provide safe and cost-effective space transportation products and services to satisfy our customers’ needs.” (Based in Houston, Texas, DCI Services and Consulting is a systems engineering and integration company focused in the aerospace and defense market.)

• Jim Baker, Director, Commercial Sector, at MEI Technologies stated, “As the commercial spaceflight industry grows, we see our involvement in CSF to not only be a way of providing the critical skills necessary to support our nation’s leadership in space but also to be a part of inspiring the next generation scientists, engineers, and explorers who will maintain that leadership. As such, MEI Technologies is proud to join with our industry colleagues and CSF in advancing commercial spaceflight.” (Headquartered in Houston and founded in 1992 as Muñiz Engineering, MEI Technologies employs more than 800 individuals that serve more than 60 clients in the civil, commercial and defense industries.)

• Heather Bulk, President and CEO of Special Aerospace Services, stated, “We are truly proud to be a member of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation with its strong vision and leadership by the members. SAS looks forward to continuing our journey with those who live by our motto…’who dreams wins!’ ” (Headquartered in Boulder, Colorado, Special Aerospace Services provides experienced program support in the areas of launch vehicles, spacecraft systems, space system engineering, human rating, and space safety.)

• Brian Buckley, SRA International’s Space Systems Group Lead, stated, “Commercial Spaceflight Federation (CSF) is the perfect forum for SRA International to introduce our award-winning Spacecraft Command Language (SCL) product line for flight and ground systems. SCL has contributed to the success of many NASA and DoD missions and we look forward to sharing our software development capabilities and experience in mission critical systems with the CSF.” (Founded in 1978 and headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia, SRA International provides the expert knowledge, technical tools and solutions that governments, agencies and companies need to improve performance, reduce costs and risks, introduce enterprise efficiencies and enhance human health.)

About the Commercial Spaceflight Federation
The mission of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation (CSF) is to promote the development of commercial human spaceflight, pursue ever-higher levels of safety, and share best practices and expertise throughout the industry. The Commercial Spaceflight Federation’s member companies, which include commercial spaceflight developers, operators, spaceports, suppliers, and service providers, are creating thousands of high-tech jobs nationwide, working to preserve American leadership in aerospace through technology innovation, and inspiring young people to pursue careers in science and engineering. For more information please visit www.commercialspaceflight.org or contact Executive Director John Gedmark at john@commercialspaceflight.org or at 202.349.1121.

About Andrews Space, Inc.
Headquartered in Seattle, Andrews Space, Inc. was founded to be a catalyst in the commercialization and development of space. Andrews Space has been developing innovative space and aerospace systems for NASA, the Department of Defense, and commercial customers since the company’s inception in 1999. Andrews Space has been involved in initiatives including commercial crew and cargo, operationally responsive spacelift, NASA exploration, and hypersonic platforms. For more information please visit http://www.andrews-space.com.

About DCI Services and Consulting
Headquartered in Houston, TX, near the Johnson Space Center, DCI Services and Consulting is an engineering consulting firm focused on aerospace and systems engineering, technical management, and strategic business development. DCI is currently providing services to participants in NASA’s Commercial Crew Development Program and is engaged on topics such as safety standards for commercial spaceflight, commercial business models and procurement, and Space Station utilization. For more information please visit http://www.dci-sc.com.

About MEI Technologies
MEI Technologies, Inc. provides technical solutions to the commercial and federal technology markets. Founded in 1992 as Muñiz Engineering, the company employs more than 800 individuals that serve more than 60 clients in the civil, commercial and defense industries. Headquartered in Houston, the company operates satellite offices in seven additional states: Colorado (Denver and Colorado Springs), New Mexico (Albuquerque and White Sands Test Facility); Alabama (Huntsville), Maryland (Greenbelt), Georgia (Marietta), Mississippi (Stennis Space Center), and California (San Jose and Los Angeles). For more information please visit http://www.meitechinc.com.

About Special Aerospace Services
Headquartered in Boulder, Colorado, Special Aerospace Services is a small, woman-owned, innovative aerospace services and solutions company. Special Aerospace Services (SAS) provides experienced program support in the areas of launch vehicles, spacecraft systems, space system engineering, human rating and SpaceFlight Safety (TM). SAS supports U.S. and International customers, including NASA’s CCDev and COTS Programs, Defense Threat Reduction Agency, and commercial launch service providers. For more information please visit http://www.specialaerospaceservices.com.

About SRA International
Founded in 1978 and headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia, SRA provides the expert knowledge, technical tools and solutions that governments, agencies and companies need to improve performance, reduce costs and risks, introduce enterprise efficiencies and enhance human health. For complex space-based programs, SRA’s Intelligence & Space Sector delivers products and services at every phase – from mission concept through spacecraft retirement. For more information please visit http://www.sra.com.

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Washington, D.C. – The Commercial Spaceflight Federation is pleased to announce that Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne has joined the Federation as an Associate Member. With 3,100 employees across Florida, California, Alabama, and Mississippi, including more than 1,800 employees in Southern California, the company is a leading provider of propulsion and [...]

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Washington, D.C. – The Commercial Spaceflight Federation is pleased to announce that Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne has joined the Federation as an Associate Member. With 3,100 employees across Florida, California, Alabama, and Mississippi, including more than 1,800 employees in Southern California, the company is a leading provider of propulsion and power systems for space flight.

James G. Maser, President of Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, stated, “Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne is excited to be a part of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation. Joining the Commercial Spaceflight Federation will enable us to better collaborate with industry to serve both NASA’s new technology and exploration programs and the expanding commercial space market.”

Maser continued, “We believe our proven expertise in rocket engine development, human-rating requirements and propulsion system verification will help contribute to the growth of commercial spaceflight. Since our beginnings in the late 1940s, our company has been at the forefront of the commercial spaceflight industry with a number of private engine developments for commercial launch vehicles, and we are excited to participate in the further growth of this vital sector.”

Maser added, “Clearly, we support the continuation of the U.S. human spaceflight program, as well as fostering a safe, more cost-effective and commercial approach for crew to Low Earth Orbit. Participation with CSF demonstrates our determination to maintain the country’s aerospace technology base with proven commercial capabilities to transport crew to Low Earth Orbit while NASA moves on a course for exploration missions beyond Low Earth Orbit. We are especially pleased to see NASA’s desire to make new investments in liquid propulsion and fundamental propulsion research.”

Mark Sirangelo, Chairman of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, commented, “On behalf of the member companies of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, we are proud to welcome Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne.  Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne is respected throughout the industry for its high-performance propulsion systems and the company will be a strong asset to the Commercial Spaceflight Federation.  We’re excited to have them onboard.”

Bretton Alexander, President of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, added, “It’s very gratifying to see the aerospace industry continue to unite behind a common goal of expanding the commercial space economy.  The payoff will be thousands of new high-tech jobs, enhanced access to space for civil, military, and commercial customers, and exciting a new generation of young people to embark on science and technology careers.  We are pleased to welcome the entire Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne team.”

About the Commercial Spaceflight Federation

The mission of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation (CSF) is to promote the development of commercial human spaceflight, pursue ever-higher levels of safety, and share best practices and expertise throughout the industry. The Commercial Spaceflight Federation’s member companies, which include commercial spaceflight developers, operators, spaceports, suppliers, and service providers, are creating thousands of high-tech jobs nationwide, working to preserve American leadership in aerospace through technology innovation, and inspiring young people to pursue careers in science and engineering.  For more information please visit www.commercialspaceflight.org or contact Executive Director John Gedmark at john@commercialspaceflight.org or at 202-349-1121.

About Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne

Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, a part of Pratt & Whitney, is a preferred provider of high-value propulsion, power, energy and innovative system solutions used in a wide variety of government and commercial applications, including the main engines for the space shuttle, Atlas and Delta launch vehicles, missile defense systems and advanced hypersonic engines. For more information on Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, please visit www.prattwhitneyrocketdyne.com or contact Bryan Kidder at 818-586-2213.

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NASA Bill Provides Funding for Commercial Crew, But Falls Short of Expert Panel’s Vision for Future:

Washington, D.C. – Following today’s executive session of the Senate Commerce Committee, the President of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, Bretton Alexander, stated, “Thanks to Senators Warner, Boxer, Udall, and Brownback, American industry won a victory [...]

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Commercial Spaceflight Federation Responds to Recent Misperceptions Related to U.S. Human Spaceflight
Washington, D.C., July 12, 2010 – As a strong supporter of a robust NASA human spaceflight program, the Commercial Spaceflight Federation is releasing the following statement to address topics related to human spaceflight, including commercial human spaceflight.  Please see items below on the topics [...]

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Commercial Spaceflight Federation Responds to Recent Misperceptions Related to U.S. Human Spaceflight

Washington, D.C., July 12, 2010 – As a strong supporter of a robust NASA human spaceflight program, the Commercial Spaceflight Federation is releasing the following statement to address topics related to human spaceflight, including commercial human spaceflight.  Please see items below on the topics of capability, safety, and cost savings.  To download the document, please click here [pdf].

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Washington, D.C. – The Commercial Spaceflight Federation welcomes President Obama’s new National Space Policy, which underscores the importance of commercial spaceflight for American economic growth and leadership in space.
Bretton Alexander, President of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, stated, “The National Space Policy reinforces the President’s new plan for NASA, particularly the use of commercial providers for [...]

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Washington, D.C. – The Commercial Spaceflight Federation welcomes President Obama’s new National Space Policy, which underscores the importance of commercial spaceflight for American economic growth and leadership in space.

Bretton Alexander, President of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, stated, “The National Space Policy reinforces the President’s new plan for NASA, particularly the use of commercial providers for transport of crew and cargo to the International Space Station. The National Space Policy recognizes the benefits of a robust commercial space industry and lays down a series of clear policies to enable further growth of this sector.”

Alexander added, “Importantly, the National Space Policy document states that government space systems will only be developed if there is no suitable commercial system that “is or will be available” [emphasis added], a strong declaration that the government will support and not compete with emerging commercial space services.”

The importance of promoting commercial spaceflight is heavily emphasized throughout the National Space Policy document, establishing as a guiding principle that “a robust and competitive commercial space sector is vital to continued progress in space.” The policy further states that the U.S. government will “promote a robust domestic commercial space industry, […] refrain from conducting United States Government space activities that preclude, discourage, or compete with U.S. commercial space activities, [… and] pursue potential opportunities for transferring routine, operational space functions to the commercial space sector where beneficial and cost-effective,” among other pro-commercial actions.

About the Commercial Spaceflight Federation
The mission of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation (CSF) is to promote the development of commercial human spaceflight, pursue ever-higher levels of safety, and share best practices and expertise throughout the industry. The Commercial Spaceflight Federation’s member companies, which include commercial spaceflight developers, operators, spaceports, suppliers, and service providers, are creating thousands of high-tech jobs nationwide, working to preserve American leadership in aerospace through technology innovation, and inspiring young people to pursue careers in science and engineering. For more information please visit www.commercialspaceflight.org or contact Executive Director John Gedmark at john@commercialspaceflight.org or at 202.349.1121.

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Washington, D.C. – The Commercial Spaceflight Federation welcomes the support of more than 50 former NASA astronauts, scientists, and industry CEOs and leaders who sent a letter to Congress yesterday urging full funding of Commercial Crew and full support for NASA-led human space exploration beyond Earth orbit.
“It has been very gratifying to see the [...]

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Washington, D.C. – The Commercial Spaceflight Federation welcomes the support of more than 50 former NASA astronauts, scientists, and industry CEOs and leaders who sent a letter to Congress yesterday urging full funding of Commercial Crew and full support for NASA-led human space exploration beyond Earth orbit.

“It has been very gratifying to see the support for Commercial Crew from a broad cross-section of the community, ranging from former Apollo and Shuttle astronauts to scientists and former NASA Center Directors,” stated Bretton Alexander, President of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation.

“Commercial Crew is key to ensuring full utilization of the International Space Station, minimizing the gap in human spaceflight, and allowing NASA to focus its limited resources on exploration beyond low Earth orbit,” added Alexander. “President Obama’s plan for NASA achieves both of these goals by pursuing a robust Commercial Crew program. The President’s plan accelerates exploration by allowing NASA to focus on beyond-LEO exploration rather than spending its limited resources on a low Earth orbit transportation service. And given the urgency of the gap, the time is right to begin full funding of Commercial Crew now.”

The signatories of the letter wrote, “We specifically wish to express our concern that the commercial crew to Space Station program is sometimes seen as optional or too risky to America’s future in space, but nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, the commercial crew to Space Station program is a fundamental enabler of NASA’s human space exploration beyond Earth orbit, specifically because it will free up the NASA dollars needed to develop deep space transportation and exploration systems for astronauts.”

Notable signatories include former Apollo-era NASA astronauts such as Owen Garriott (Skylab 3, STS-9) and Rusty Schweickart (Apollo 9); former NASA Kennedy Center Director Jim Kennedy, who also served as Deputy Director of NASA Marshall; former NASA Ames Center Director Scott Hubbard, who also served as a Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB) member; former FAA Associate Administrator Patti Grace Smith; President and CEO of the Universities Space Research Association Fred Tarantino; former NASA Associate Administrator for Science Alan Stern; and former Columbia Accident Investigation Board member John Logsdon.

To view the full letter, please visit http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=34355

About the Commercial Spaceflight Federation
The mission of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation (CSF) is to promote the development of commercial human spaceflight, pursue ever-higher levels of safety, and share best practices and expertise throughout the industry. The Commercial Spaceflight Federation’s member companies, which include commercial spaceflight developers, operators, spaceports, suppliers, and service providers, are creating thousands of high-tech jobs nationwide, working to preserve American leadership in aerospace through technology innovation, and inspiring young people to pursue careers in science and engineering. For more information please visit www.commercialspaceflight.org or contact Executive Director John Gedmark at john@commercialspaceflight.org or at 202.349.1121.

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Washington, D.C. – The Commercial Spaceflight Federation is pleased to announce that Senator Sam Brownback (R-Kansas), the former Chair of the Senate Science and Space Subcommittee, will be hosting an event for his Senate colleagues and their staff on June 24 to discuss commercial spaceflight.
Senator Brownback said, “The private sector brings to the table [...]

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Washington, D.C. – The Commercial Spaceflight Federation is pleased to announce that Senator Sam Brownback (R-Kansas), the former Chair of the Senate Science and Space Subcommittee, will be hosting an event for his Senate colleagues and their staff on June 24 to discuss commercial spaceflight.

Senator Brownback said, “The private sector brings to the table many ideas for the next chapter of America’s mission in space, and I look forward to hearing from leaders in the spaceflight industry about the best ways to achieve a thriving commercial spaceflight industry. The growth of commercial spaceflight will lead to the creation of many highly-skilled, high-paying jobs. My home-state of Kansas has been a leader in general aviation for years now, and I have no doubt that we will also be leaders in commercial spaceflight.”

The keynote speaker is Norm Augustine, chairman of the Review of U.S. Human Space Flight Plans Committee, and other panelists include:
- Ken Bowersox, SpaceX’s Vice President of Astronaut Safety
- George Sowers, United Launch Alliance’s Vice President of Business Development and Advanced Programs
- William Claybaugh, Orbital Sciences’ Senior Director for Human Spaceflight
- Mark Sirangelo, Sierra Nevada Corporation Space Systems Chairman and Commercial Spaceflight Federation Chairman

In his invitation letter, Senator Brownback asks his Senate colleagues and staff to “hear some of the leading private aerospace companies about what they believe the private sector can contribute to America’s mission in space, and what Congress can do to make it possible.”

The event, titled “Opportunities and Challenges in Commercial Space Flight,” will take place 10:30am-noon in Dirksen Senate Office Building Room 562 on June 24. The event is open to the media.

For more information, please contact Stacy Cervenka in Senator Brownback’s office at Stacy_Cervenka@brownback.senate.gov or at 202-224-6521.

Bretton Alexander, President of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, stated, “We are very appreciative of Senator Brownback for hosting this important event. We believe that commercial spaceflight can make important contributions to NASA’s space program, as well as serving as an important engine of job creation in the space sector and inspiring youth to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and math. By allowing the commercial sector to handle the job of transportation to Low Earth Orbit, NASA can free up its own resources to accelerate exploration to destinations beyond Earth orbit.”

Senator Brownback has served as a U.S. Senator for over 13 years and is a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee. From 2003 to 2005, Brownback served as chairman of the Science, Technology and Space Subcommittee of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, holding hearings on U.S. space exploration, the space shuttle, the International Space Station, and lunar and Martian exploration.

About the Commercial Spaceflight Federation
The mission of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation (CSF) is to promote the development of commercial human spaceflight, pursue ever-higher levels of safety, and share best practices and expertise throughout the industry. The Commercial Spaceflight Federation’s member companies, which include commercial spaceflight developers, operators, spaceports, suppliers, and service providers, are creating thousands of high-tech jobs nationwide, working to preserve American leadership in aerospace through technology innovation, and inspiring young people to pursue careers in science and engineering. For more information please visit www.commercialspaceflight.org or contact Executive Director John Gedmark at john@commercialspaceflight.org or at 202.349.1121.

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Washington, D.C. – The Commercial Spaceflight Federation is pleased to announce that United Launch Alliance of Denver, Colorado has joined the Federation as an Executive Member. United Launch Alliance operates the Atlas V, Delta II, and Delta IV launch vehicles.
Michael C. Gass, President and CEO of United Launch Alliance, stated, “United Launch Alliance has [...]

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Washington, D.C. – The Commercial Spaceflight Federation is pleased to announce that United Launch Alliance of Denver, Colorado has joined the Federation as an Executive Member. United Launch Alliance operates the Atlas V, Delta II, and Delta IV launch vehicles.

Michael C. Gass, President and CEO of United Launch Alliance, stated, “United Launch Alliance has close business relationships with many members of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, including Bigelow Aerospace, Sierra Nevada Corporation, Space Florida, and XCOR Aerospace. Additionally, ULA is a funded participant in NASA’s Commercial Crew Development Program. So joining the Commercial Spaceflight Federation is a natural fit for us, and we are proud to do so.”

Gass added, “United Launch Alliance is excited to offer our proven Atlas V and Delta IV launch vehicles to potential commercial crew providers, many of whom are members of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation. We look forward to the day when astronauts are flying to low Earth orbit onboard commercial vehicles such as Atlas and Delta. And the track record of success for Atlas V and Delta IV shows that commercial spaceflight can and will be conducted safely.”

Mark Sirangelo, Chairman of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, commented, “It is a pleasure to welcome United Launch Alliance to the fast growing membership of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation. ULA is innovative and entrepreneurially minded and we are proud to work with ULA to achieve our common goals. We look forward to a productive partnership with CEO Michael Gass and his entire team.”

Bretton Alexander, President of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, added, “With the addition of United Launch Alliance and its nearly 4,000 employees to the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, the Federation now includes America’s most experienced launch services providers. United Launch Alliance and its heritage companies have been trusted by the U.S. government to deliver the Nation’s most-critical national security payloads to orbit for more than 50 years. The proven Atlas and Delta launch systems have an important role to play in providing commercial crew transportation for NASA and other customers.”

Alexander concluded, “With the addition of both United Launch Alliance and Bigelow Aerospace this month, the Federation is even more strongly dedicated to our shared goal of a robust space economy, creating jobs here on Earth and new opportunities in space.”

About the Commercial Spaceflight Federation
The mission of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation (CSF) is to promote the development of commercial human spaceflight, pursue ever-higher levels of safety, and share best practices and expertise throughout the industry. The Commercial Spaceflight Federation’s member companies, which include commercial spaceflight developers, operators, spaceports, suppliers, and service providers, are creating thousands of high-tech jobs nationwide, working to preserve American leadership in aerospace through technology innovation, and inspiring young people to pursue careers in science and engineering. For more information please visit www.commercialspaceflight.org or contact Executive Director John Gedmark at john@commercialspaceflight.org or at 202.349.1121.

About United Launch Alliance
Formed in December 2006, United Launch Alliance (ULA) is a 50-50 joint venture owned by Lockheed Martin and The Boeing Company. ULA brings together two of the launch industry’s most experienced and successful teams – Atlas and Delta – that have supported America’s presence in space for fifty years. The United Launch Alliance team consists of approximately 3,900 employees working at sites across the country. ULA program management, engineering, test and mission support functions are headquartered in Denver, Colorado. Manufacturing, assembly and integration operations are located at Decatur, Ala., Denver, CO., Harlingen, TX., and San Diego, CA. Launch operations are located at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, FL, and at Vandenberg Air Force Base, CA. For more information please visit www.ulalaunch.com.

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Bigelow Aerospace Joins the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, Aims to Address Commercial Crew Transportation Misperceptions
Washington, D.C. – The Commercial Spaceflight Federation is pleased to announce that Bigelow Aerospace, LLC (“Bigelow Aerospace or “BA”) has joined the Federation as an Executive Member, having received unanimous approval by the Commercial Spaceflight Federation’s Board of Directors.
Mark Sirangelo, Chairman of [...]

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Bigelow Aerospace Joins the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, Aims to Address Commercial Crew Transportation Misperceptions

Washington, D.C. – The Commercial Spaceflight Federation is pleased to announce that Bigelow Aerospace, LLC (“Bigelow Aerospace or “BA”) has joined the Federation as an Executive Member, having received unanimous approval by the Commercial Spaceflight Federation’s Board of Directors.

Mark Sirangelo, Chairman of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, commented, “On behalf of the member companies of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, we are proud to welcome Bigelow Aerospace as an Executive Member.  Bigelow is a great fit with our other members, all of who are pursuing the common goal of a robust commercial human spaceflight sector.  With the addition of Bigelow Aerospace to the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, all of the pieces of a self-sustaining commercial space economy are falling into place – launch providers, spaceports, suppliers, and on-orbit destinations.  For those who suppose there is no market for commercial crew launches other than NASA, Bigelow Aerospace serves as one counterexample.”

Robert T. Bigelow, Founder and President of Bigelow Aerospace said, “The future is being created now.  Commercial crew transportation has the potential to revolutionize the space industry for public and private sector entities alike.  The unprecedented success of the Falcon 9’s inaugural launch clearly demonstrates that it’s possible to dramatically reduce the cost of human spaceflight operations. SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule were developed at a cost dramatically below that of traditional cost-plus programs – this should be a wakeup call that it’s time for a new way of doing business.  We are becoming a member of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation at this time to join with like-minded organizations, who want to see America be able to compete again in the global space launch marketplace, and push back against the pernicious misconceptions that are being perpetuated to harm the Administration’s commercial crew initiative.”

“Specifically, I’m appalled by the condemnation of commercial crew as being somehow less safe than government programs, and the refrain that commercial companies need to prove they can deliver cargo before they deliver crew.  In regard to the latter, a leading contender for commercial missions, the Atlas V, has had 21 consecutive successful launches.  This rocket is arguably the most reliable domestic launch system in existence today.  It strains the bounds of credulity to claim that any new rocket would be able to trump the safety of a system that has an extensive record of flawless operations.”

“Moreover,” Bigelow added, “we’re extremely pleased to be part of the Boeing team constructing the CST-100 capsule under the auspices of NASA’s own Commercial Crew Development program.  Boeing’s unparalleled heritage and experience, combined with Bigelow Aerospace’s entrepreneurial spirit and desire to keep costs low, represents the best of both established and new space companies.  The product of this relationship, the CST-100 capsule, will represent the safest, most reliable, and most cost-effective spacecraft ever to fly.  Again, I don’t understand the critics who say ‘commercial’ entities can’t safely build a capsule.  Why is it that Boeing, the company that constructed the ISS itself, can’t safely build a capsule that would go to their own space station?  These are the sorts of questions and issues that we will be posing in Washington as a member of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation.”

Bretton Alexander, President of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, added, “Bigelow Aerospace joining the Commercial Spaceflight Federation will help us to further our organization’s goals — to promote the development of commercial human spaceflight, pursue ever higher levels of safety, and share best practices and expertise throughout the industry.  This is the start of an exciting new era for commercial spaceflight.”

About the Commercial Spaceflight Federation

The mission of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation is to promote the development of commercial human spaceflight, pursue ever-higher levels of safety, and share best practices and expertise throughout the industry. The Commercial Spaceflight Federation’s member companies, which include commercial spaceflight developers, operators, spaceports, suppliers, and service providers, are creating thousands of high-tech jobs nationwide, working to preserve American leadership in aerospace through technology innovation, and inspiring young people to pursue careers in science and engineering.  For more information please visit www.commercialspaceflight.org or contact Executive Director John Gedmark at john@commercialspaceflight.org or at 202.349.1121.

About Bigelow Aerospace

Bigelow Aerospace, headquartered in Nevada, is a general contractor providing design, engineering, fabrication, testing, assembly, and marketing of future orbital space complexes. Bigelow Aerospace has already successfully launched and deployed two pathfinder spacecraft, Genesis 1 and Genesis 2, launched in 2006 and 2007 respectively.  Bigelow Aerospace is currently constructing the habitats and hardware that will comprise the world’s first private sector space station, which will be deployed as soon as domestic commercial crew transportation becomes available.  For more information please visit www.bigelowaerospace.com or contact Mike Gold at mgold@bigelowaerospace.com or at 240.235.6016.

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Washington, D.C. – Space industry leaders, astronauts, and the Commercial Spaceflight Federation are issuing the following statements following the launch of the Falcon 9 vehicle to orbit:
Bretton Alexander, President of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation:
“Today is a historic day for SpaceX. The Falcon 9 rocket rising into the sky was carrying the hopes and dreams [...]

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Washington, D.C. – Space industry leaders, astronauts, and the Commercial Spaceflight Federation are issuing the following statements following the launch of the Falcon 9 vehicle to orbit:

Bretton Alexander, President of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation:

“Today is a historic day for SpaceX. The Falcon 9 rocket rising into the sky was carrying the hopes and dreams of the hundreds of engineers who worked on this new project. And I know that thousands of well-wishers across the country were cheering that rocket on. For a brand-new rocket to accomplish this much on its first mission is truly impressive, given the historical difficulties of first flights.”

Mark Sirangelo, Chairman of Sierra Nevada Corporation Space Systems and Chairman of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation:

“Congratulations to Elon Musk and everyone working at SpaceX. The broader commercial space community has received a fantastic piece of good news today.”

Russell “Rusty” Schweickart, former Apollo 9 astronaut:

“As a former Apollo astronaut, I think it’s safe to say that SpaceX and the other commercial developers embody the 21st century version of the Apollo frontier spirit. It’s enormously gratifying to see them succeed today.”

Frank DiBello, President and CEO of Space Florida:

“This is another giant leap forward on the path of commercial spaceflight. Florida’s aerospace workforce can take special pride that SpaceX’s launch happened right here at Cape Canaveral. This success means more jobs for Florida and Floridians, and this success also means a major new force in the evolution of a vibrant commercial space capability for the nation.”

Dr. Peter H. Diamandis, Chairman of the X PRIZE Foundation:

“In President Barack Obama’s new plan for NASA, a new player has taken center stage – American capitalism and entrepreneurship – and today’s SpaceX launch strengthens my hope that commercial space companies will at long last remove the cost barrier that slows our exploration of the solar system.”

Eric Anderson, Chairman and CEO of Space Adventures:

“It’s a tremendous accomplishment for SpaceX to succeed on the first try for Falcon 9. There’s a bright future ahead for the commercial spaceflight industry and today was a big day.”

Byron Lichtenberg, former Space Shuttle astronaut:

“I expect that there will be a lot more astronauts in the future because of today’s success. Lower cost launches means more flights, which means more astronauts. We’ve only had 500 astronauts in the history of the Space Age, but I hope to see thousands more in the decades to come.”

Robert T. Bigelow, Founder of Bigelow Aerospace:

“On behalf of myself and all of us at Bigelow Aerospace we would like to congratulate our friends at SpaceX on the unprecedented success of the inaugural Falcon 9 launch. Achieving orbit on its first attempt is a testament to the robust capabilities of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 specifically and commercial crew transportation in general. We look forward to the continued development of the Falcon 9 launcher and Dragon capsule.”

The Planetary Society, the world’s largest space advocacy organization by membership:

“With this success for the commercial spaceflight industry, the United States is better positioned to ramp up its ambitions for exploring the solar system. The proposal to refocus NASA’s human spaceflight program beyond low-Earth orbit now looks more achievable, as this flight demonstrated that commercial rockets may soon be ready to carry supplies and, we hope, astronauts to the International Space Station.”

Dr. Alan Stern, former NASA Associate Administrator for Science and now Associate Vice President at the Southwest Research Institute:

“Congratulations to SpaceX on this phenomenal achievement. Falcon 9 and other commercial rockets will allow America to more quickly supplant Russian rides to orbit for our astronauts, to encourage the development of space tourism and other businesses in low Earth orbit, and to more economically transport crew and cargo to orbit so that we can afford human exploration of new worlds within NASA’s budget.”

About the Commercial Spaceflight Federation

The mission of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation (CSF) is to promote the development of commercial human spaceflight, pursue ever-higher levels of safety, and share best practices and expertise throughout the industry. The Commercial Spaceflight Federation’s member companies, which include commercial spaceflight developers, operators, spaceports, suppliers, and service providers, are creating thousands of high-tech jobs nationwide, working to preserve American leadership in aerospace through technology innovation, and inspiring young people to pursue careers in science and engineering. For more information please visit www.commercialspaceflight.org or contact Executive Director John Gedmark at john@commercialspaceflight.org or at 202.349.1120.

Image credit: Ben Cooper/ Spaceflight Now

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Masten Space Systems, based at the Mojave Spaceport in California, demonstrated yesterday the ability to successfully relight the engine of a VTVL (vertical-takeoff vertical-landing) vehicle in midair. This marks the first-ever midair relight for any VTVL rocket-powered vehicle.
“We’re extremely excited and very proud to announce that we now have in-air re-light [...]

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Masten Space Systems, based at the Mojave Spaceport in California, demonstrated yesterday the ability to successfully relight the engine of a VTVL (vertical-takeoff vertical-landing) vehicle in midair. This marks the first-ever midair relight for any VTVL rocket-powered vehicle.

“We’re extremely excited and very proud to announce that we now have in-air re-light capability,” stated CEO David Masten in a press release issued by Masten Space Systems. “The ability to turn off our engine, re-ignite it in flight, successfully regain control and land was the next big milestone as we expand our flight envelope to include high altitude flights. Each milestone we hit makes the path to space much clearer.” More information from Masten is available at http://masten-space.com/blog/?p=532 .

In 2009, Masten Space Systems won the $1 million top prize in Level 2 of the NASA Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge, by flying a vehicle that could hover for 180 seconds while translating between two pads, and repeating the feat within about 2 hours. Masten Space Systems is developing a series of VTVL vehicles to achieve increasingly high altitudes and achieve low-cost, rapid-turnaround access to the space environment.

Masten’s success comes days after the White House spotlighted NASA’s Commercial Reusable Suborbital Research Program (CRuSR), which will invest $15 million per year to enable flights of science, research, and educational payloads aboard commercial suborbital vehicles being developed by Masten Space Systems and other companies such as Armadillo Aerospace, Blue Origin, Virgin Galactic, and XCOR Aerospace.

In a White House blog post on Tuesday, Tom Kalil, Deputy Director for Policy at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), stated, “Thanks in large part to the $10 million Ansari X Prize, a new generation of commercial suborbital spacecraft has been under development by entrepreneurs like Richard Branson, Jeff Bezos, John Carmack, David Masten, and Jeff Greason. CRuSR—one of several innovative priorities for NASA’s new Chief Technology Officer, Bobby Braun—is building on that momentum. Starting next year, NASA will invest $15 million per year to support a wide range of technology demonstrations, educational experiments, and science payloads on these new vehicles.” The White House OSTP blog post can be found at http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/05/25/nasa-nurtures-new-ideas-near-orbit .

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A study by the Tauri Group, an independent analytic consulting firm based in Alexandria, Va., revealed in April that the new NASA Commercial Crew and Cargo Program funding in the President’s FY2011 Budget Request will result in an average of 11,800 direct jobs per year over the next five years, nationwide.   To access Tauri [...]

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A study by the Tauri Group, an independent analytic consulting firm based in Alexandria, Va., revealed in April that the new NASA Commercial Crew and Cargo Program funding in the President’s FY2011 Budget Request will result in an average of 11,800 direct jobs per year over the next five years, nationwide.   To access Tauri Group’s detailed version of this study, with additional information on methodologies used, click here to download the detailed version [pdf].

The Tauri Group study was commissioned by the Commercial Spaceflight Federation.  The original press release announcing the study results can be found here.

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Adding new voices to the debate over NASA’s future, Senator Rockefeller (D-W.V.), Senator Warner (D-Virginia), and Senator Brownback (R-Kansas) attended today’s Senate Commerce Committee hearing and registered supportive comments concerning the commercial space industry.
Senator Rockefeller (Committee Chairman) stated, “The American people deserve the most from their space program. NASA’s role cannot stay static. The President [...]

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Adding new voices to the debate over NASA’s future, Senator Rockefeller (D-W.V.), Senator Warner (D-Virginia), and Senator Brownback (R-Kansas) attended today’s Senate Commerce Committee hearing and registered supportive comments concerning the commercial space industry.

Senator Rockefeller (Committee Chairman) stated, “The American people deserve the most from their space program. NASA’s role cannot stay static. The President has challenged the United States Government to seek greater international collaboration, enable commercial services and develop new exploration technologies leading to human expansion beyond low-Earth orbit. These are good priorities and should help ensure that in tough fiscal times, we build our space future in a measured, relevant, innovative, and sustainable way. This is not easy to do but we can do it – and we must. NASA cannot continue down the same path.”

Senator Brownback stated, “I am a strong supporter of NASA, as I mentioned, and of the commercial space industry … With the impending retirement of the Shuttle, NASA is now assuming a much different role than in our past space effort, and I think there is great opportunity to have a space program that leads the world but will be a space program that is firmly embedded in opportunity for all. By opening up commercial space, it ensures a strong future for the US and the competitive aerospace industry.”

Senator Warner stated, “I do think there’s interesting opportunities to leverage off of things like the X PRIZE Foundation and the kind of energy that that generated in this sector … I think it [commercialization] holds some great possibilities and opportunities, particularly possibilities for Wallops as a facility in the commonwealth of Virginia.” (Wallops is a spaceport located in Virginia’s eastern shore.)

Senators Rockefeller, Brownback, and Warner’s statements join other voices from both political parties including New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson (D), Newt Gingrich (R), and Norm Mineta (who served under both the Clinton and Bush administrations) in support of commercial spaceflight in Low Earth Orbit, as proposed by President Obama in his new plan for NASA.

The webcast of the hearing can be viewed at the following URL. Brownback’s comments begin 47:10 into the video, and Warner’s at 120:20. http://commerce.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=Hearings&ContentRecord_id=54f5c39e-f62c-487f-b9ed-fd4be38d096f

Rockefeller’s statement is available online at http://commerce.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=c7e0dd7e-f059-4aca-80f4-87cc94e5506b

About the Commercial Spaceflight Federation
The Commercial Spaceflight Federation’s member companies, which include commercial spaceflight developers, operators, spaceports, suppliers, and service providers, are creating thousands of high-tech jobs nationwide, working to preserve American leadership in aerospace through technology innovation, and inspiring young people to pursue careers in science and engineering. For more information please visit www.commercialspaceflight.org or contact Executive Director John Gedmark at john@commercialspaceflight.org or at 202.349.1121.

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Washington, D.C. – The Commercial Spaceflight Federation is pleased to announce that the Southwest Research Institute, which recently committed funding to fly researcher-astronauts and their payloads onboard commercial suborbital spacecraft, has joined the Federation as an Executive Member, having received unanimous approval by the Commercial Spaceflight Federation’s Board of Directors.
Dr. S. Alan Stern, Associate Vice [...]

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Washington, D.C. – The Commercial Spaceflight Federation is pleased to announce that the Southwest Research Institute, which recently committed funding to fly researcher-astronauts and their payloads onboard commercial suborbital spacecraft, has joined the Federation as an Executive Member, having received unanimous approval by the Commercial Spaceflight Federation’s Board of Directors.

Dr. S. Alan Stern, Associate Vice President at SwRI, former top science official at NASA, and chair of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation’s Suborbital Applications Researchers Group (SARG), stated, “We are strong believers in the power of commercial, next-generation vehicles to advance science and education. We also expect tremendous advances from the newly emerging capability to put scientists in space with their experiments. The CSF is leading the way in this industry, and SwRI is excited to join the CSF and play a strong role in the exciting new era of 21st century space research aboard commercial space flight vehicles.”

Southwest Research Institute is an independent, nonprofit applied research and development organization, with more than 3,200 staff who specialize in the creation and transfer of technology in engineering and the physical sciences.

Mark Sirangelo, Chairman of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, commented, “On behalf of the member companies of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, we are proud to welcome Southwest Research Institute as an Executive Member. Dr. Stern has done a tremendous job in pushing forward the nascent field of commercial suborbital science. We look forward to continue working with SwRI to further CSF’s goals of promoting the development of commercial human spaceflight, pursuing ever higher levels of safety, and sharing best practices and expertise throughout the industry.”

Bretton Alexander, President of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, added, “SwRI has a strong reputation and outstanding technical expertise in flying science payloads in space, including on suborbital rockets, and in the next few years SwRI expects to create some of the first suborbital scientist-astronauts in the nation as Dr. Stern and his colleagues train and fly onboard commercial suborbital spacecraft.”

About the Commercial Spaceflight Federation
The mission of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation (CSF) is to promote the development of commercial human spaceflight, pursue ever-higher levels of safety, and share best practices and expertise throughout the industry. The Commercial Spaceflight Federation’s member companies, which include commercial spaceflight developers, operators, spaceports, suppliers, and service providers, are creating thousands of high-tech jobs nationwide, working to preserve American leadership in aerospace through technology innovation, and inspiring young people to pursue careers in science and engineering. For more information please visit www.commercialspaceflight.org or contact Executive Director John Gedmark at john@commercialspaceflight.org or at 202.349.1121.

About the Southwest Research Institute
Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) is an independent, nonprofit applied research and development organization. The staff of more than 3,200 specializes in the creation and transfer of technology in engineering and the physical sciences. The Institute occupies more than 1,200 acres in San Antonio, Texas, and provides nearly 2 million square feet of laboratories, test facilities, workshops and offices, with satellite offices in locations such as Boulder, Colorado. For more information please visit www.swri.edu or contact Alan Stern at alan@boulder.swri.edu or at 720.240.0163.

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Washington, D.C. – The Commercial Spaceflight Federation is pleased to announce that Cecil Field Spaceport in Jacksonville, Florida, which received its spaceport license from the Federal Aviation Administration earlier this year, has joined the Federation as an Executive Member, having received unanimous approval by the Commercial Spaceflight Federation’s Board of Directors.
Cecil Field (airport code VQQ) [...]

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Washington, D.C. – The Commercial Spaceflight Federation is pleased to announce that Cecil Field Spaceport in Jacksonville, Florida, which received its spaceport license from the Federal Aviation Administration earlier this year, has joined the Federation as an Executive Member, having received unanimous approval by the Commercial Spaceflight Federation’s Board of Directors.

Cecil Field (airport code VQQ) is located approximately 15 miles west of downtown Jacksonville, Florida, and is one of five airports run by the Jacksonville Aviation Authority. As a decommissioned naval airbase, Cecil Field has four, 200-foot wide runways, three of which measure 8,000 feet. The fourth runway is 12,500 feet in length, one of the longest in Florida. Using this infrastructure, Cecil Field is preparing to become a base for suborbital commercial human spaceflight in Florida.

Florida Governor Charlie Crist visited Cecil Field Spaceport on January 13, shortly after Cecil Field received its FAA spaceport license on January 11. During the visit, Governor Crist stated, “It’s a wonderful accomplishment to have the opportunity to get into the commercial space industry and do it right here from the First Coast.”

Bretton Alexander, President of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, said, “We are proud to welcome Cecil Field Spaceport as our newest Executive Member. Cecil Field Spaceport is our second member headquartered in Florida, along with Space Florida at Kennedy Space Center.”

“We are honored to join the Commercial Spaceflight Federation,” said spaceport project lead Todd Lindner, the Jacksonville Aviation Authority’s Administrator of Planning. “The organization represents spaceports nationwide – as well as vehicle developers, operators, and suppliers – so Cecil Field joining was a natural fit. We are excited to work with the Commercial Spaceflight Federation and our fellow members on issues such as the newly funded STIM-Grants program for spaceports infrastructure, FAA regulations and permits, industry safety standards, public outreach and policy advocacy.”

When Cecil Field received its FAA spaceport license in January, Frank DiBello, President of Space Florida, stated, “I was thrilled to learn this week that Cecil Field was issued a Launch Site Operator’s License from the FAA. We are thrilled to have been able to work with Cecil Field representatives during this process, and look forward to continuing our relationship with them as the commercial space industry grows.”

As a member of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, Cecil Field Spaceport has also joined the CSF Spaceports Council, a broader group of ten spaceports that have come together under the aegis of the CSF to cooperate on issues of common interest such as airspace access, legal and regulatory frameworks, infrastructure, international policy migration, liability, and voluntary common operating standards.

About the Commercial Spaceflight Federation
The mission of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation (CSF) is to promote the development of commercial human spaceflight, pursue ever higher levels of safety, and share best practices and expertise throughout the industry. The Commercial Spaceflight Federation’s member companies, which include commercial spaceflight developers, operators, spaceports, suppliers, and service providers, are creating thousands of high-tech jobs nationwide, working to preserve American leadership in aerospace through technology innovation, and inspiring young people to pursue careers in science and engineering. For more information please visit www.commercialspaceflight.org or contact Executive Director John Gedmark at john@commercialspaceflight.org or at 202.349.1121.

About Cecil Field Spaceport
Cecil Field Spaceport (airport code VQQ) is located approximately 15 miles west of downtown Jacksonville, Florida, and is one of five airports run by the Jacksonville Aviation Authority. As a decommissioned naval airbase, Cecil Field has four, 200-foot wide runways, three of which measure 8,000 feet. The fourth runway is 12,500 feet in length, one of the longest in Florida. Using this infrastructure, Cecil Field is preparing to become a base for suborbital commercial human spaceflight in Florida. For more information please contact Todd Lindner, project lead and Jacksonville Aviation Authority Administrator of Planning, at tlindner@jaa.aero or at 904.741.2228.

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Norman Mineta, who served as Secretary of Transportation under President George W. Bush and as Secretary of Commerce under President Bill Clinton, and who represented Silicon Valley in Congress for more than 20 years, has published an op-ed stating, “With Russia, China and India close on our heels, the only way we can maintain our [...]

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Norman Mineta, who served as Secretary of Transportation under President George W. Bush and as Secretary of Commerce under President Bill Clinton, and who represented Silicon Valley in Congress for more than 20 years, has published an op-ed stating, “With Russia, China and India close on our heels, the only way we can maintain our hard-won leadership in space transportation is by employing America’s unique entrepreneurial strength. Obama’s new plan for NASA does exactly that.”

Mineta’s op-ed in Silicon Valley’s San Jose Mercury-News, titled “Time to Bring Silicon Valley Spirit to Space Industry,” can be read at http://www.mercurynews.com/opinion/ci_14929987 .

Mineta, a longtime Silicon Valley leader both in Congress and as mayor of San Jose, stated, “As President Barack Obama outlined in a historic speech last week, NASA will now partner with commercial space companies to bring that Silicon Valley spirit to all of NASA and breathe new life into the space industry.” Mineta added, “When I was secretary of transportation, I had final authority for more than 40 FAA-licensed commercial rocket launches. Safety is something I take very seriously, and I would not be advocating for expanded commercial space flight if I didn’t believe it would be safe.”

A bipartisan figure, Mineta became only the fourth person to be a member of Cabinet under two Presidents from different political parties when he became Secretary of Transportation for President Bush after being Secretary of Commerce for President Clinton.

In the op-ed, Mineta stated, “While the Atlas and Delta rockets have extensive track records, it is not just the established companies that will compete in this new industry. Having spent two decades representing Silicon Valley in Congress, I say it’s long overdue to bring in entrepreneurs to this sector, with all their fresh ideas, private investment and new business approaches.”

The President’s new plan has also been endorsed by other public figures such as New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, former Congressman Newt Gingrich, and James Cameron, who served on the NASA Advisory Council from 2003 to 2005. Newspaper editorial board endorsements of the new NASA plan include The New York Times, Boston Globe, The Economist, Nature, Philadelphia Inquirer, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Tampa Tribune, and the Chicago Tribune.

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Washington, D.C. – The Commercial Spaceflight Federation, the association of companies working to make commercial human spaceflight a reality, to preserve American leadership in aerospace through technology innovation, and to inspire young people to pursue careers in science and engineering, strongly endorsed President Obama’s space vision today. The President’s plan increases NASA’s budget by [...]

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Washington, D.C. – The Commercial Spaceflight Federation, the association of companies working to make commercial human spaceflight a reality, to preserve American leadership in aerospace through technology innovation, and to inspire young people to pursue careers in science and engineering, strongly endorsed President Obama’s space vision today. The President’s plan increases NASA’s budget by $6 billion over 5 years and includes new investments in exploration to Mars and other destinations, new technologies, and commercial spaceflight. The President stated, “I am 100 percent committed to the mission of NASA and its future,” and added, “We will work with a growing array of private companies competing to make getting to space easier and more affordable.”

Please see below statements from members of the space community:

· Mark Sirangelo, Chairman of Sierra Nevada Corporation Space Systems and Chair of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation: “The President’s plan will create thousands of new jobs starting almost immediately, and the commercial space industry is eager to do our part to hire the experienced workers in Florida and elsewhere who are being transitioned from the retiring Space Shuttle. And in the years to come, the President’s plan will create new industries and markets that will generate even more jobs at an accelerating rate, just like the historical growth of early aviation or the Internet.”

· Eric Anderson, CEO of Space Adventures: “This visionary plan is a master stroke. It’s exactly what NASA needs in order to continue to lead the world in space exploration in the 21st century.”

· Frank DiBello, CEO of Space Florida: “The future of space travel, along with the investment, innovation and jobs that go with it, lies in the innovations of the commercial sector… Together, NASA and private companies can ensure our nation remains first in space.”

· Elon Musk, CEO and CTO of SpaceX: “Handing over Earth orbit transport to American commercial companies, overseen of course by NASA and the FAA, will free up the NASA resources necessary to develop interplanetary transport technologies. This is critically important if we are to reach Mars, the next giant leap in human exploration of the Universe… For the first time since Apollo, our country will have a plan for space exploration that inspires and excites all who look to the stars.”

· Bretton Alexander, President of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation: “The President’s message today was spot-on: the new plan means more jobs, more spacecraft, more new technologies, and more astronaut flights. In fact, a recent independent study by the Tauri Group found that NASA investment in new commercial spaceflight programs will create an average of 11,800 direct jobs per year over the next five years, and that figure does not even include the investments in other NASA programs like technology and heavy-lift.” [For details on the jobs study, please visit http://www.commercialspaceflight.org/?p=1186]

· Bill Nye the Science Guy, Vice President of the Planetary Society: “People don’t realize that NASA’s budget has been increased, not decreased. The President is proposing that we let the maturing commercial space industry take over the routine jobs, while making more money available to explore other worlds. It couldn’t be more exciting.”

The President’s new plan has also been endorsed by other well-known public figures such as New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, former Congressmen Newt Gingrich and Bob Walker, and James Cameron, who served on the NASA Advisory Council from 2003-2005. (Please see http://www.commercialspaceflight.org/?p=1144 for additional endorsements.)

Previously, NASA had already invested $50 million in five commercial space companies — Boeing, United Launch Alliance (ULA), Paragon Space Development Corporation, Blue Origin, and Sierra Nevada Corporation – to demonstrate hardware milestones on the path to commercial human spaceflight as part of the CCDev (Commercial Crew Development) program, as well as an additional $500 million in SpaceX and Orbital Sciences through the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services program.

About the Commercial Spaceflight Federation
The mission of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation (CSF) is to promote the development of commercial human spaceflight, pursue ever higher levels of safety, and share best practices and expertise throughout the industry. The Commercial Spaceflight Federation’s member companies, which include commercial spaceflight developers, operators, spaceports, suppliers, and service providers, are creating thousands of high-tech jobs nationwide, working to preserve American leadership in aerospace through technology innovation, and inspiring young people to pursue careers in science and engineering. For more information please visit www.commercialspaceflight.org or contact Executive Director John Gedmark at john@commercialspaceflight.org or at 202.349.1121.
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Washington, D.C. – The Commercial Spaceflight Federation is pleased to announce that Raytheon Company has joined the Federation as an Associate Member, having received unanimous approval by the Board of Directors.
“We are pleased and excited to become one of the newest members of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation,” said Garnett R. Stowe, Vice President of National [...]

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Washington, D.C. – The Commercial Spaceflight Federation is pleased to announce that Raytheon Company has joined the Federation as an Associate Member, having received unanimous approval by the Board of Directors.

“We are pleased and excited to become one of the newest members of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation,” said Garnett R. Stowe, Vice President of National Intelligence Programs and Space for Raytheon. “Commercial spaceflight is a growth area for the space sector and Raytheon is proud to offer our support. We look forward to a long and productive relationship with the Commercial Spaceflight Federation and its member companies.”

Mark Sirangelo, Chairman of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation and Sierra Nevada Corporation Space Systems Chairman, commented, “The member companies of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation are proud to welcome Raytheon as a new Associate Member. As we look ahead to the future of spaceflight, we are excited to begin working with Raytheon to further the Federation’s goals of promoting the development of commercial human spaceflight, pursuing ever higher levels of safety, and sharing best practices and expertise throughout the industry.”

Bretton Alexander, President of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, added, “These next few months and years will be especially critical for the growth of the commercial spaceflight industry. As a provider of proven space-qualified systems and components, Raytheon has been involved in every orbital human spaceflight vehicle developed by the United States since the Mercury capsule. We are excited that Raytheon will be bringing its expertise to the Federation and our members.”

About the Commercial Spaceflight Federation
The mission of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation (CSF) is to promote the development of commercial human spaceflight, pursue ever higher levels of safety, and share best practices and expertise throughout the industry. The Commercial Spaceflight Federation’s member companies, which include commercial spaceflight developers, operators, spaceports, suppliers, and service providers, are creating thousands of high-tech jobs nationwide, working to preserve American leadership in aerospace through technology innovation, and inspiring young people to pursue careers in science and engineering. For more information please visit www.commercialspaceflight.org or contact Executive Director John Gedmark at john@commercialspaceflight.org or at 202.349.1121.

About Raytheon Company
Raytheon Company, with 2009 sales of $25 billion, is a technology and innovation leader specializing in defense, homeland security and other government markets throughout the world. With a history of innovation spanning 88 years, Raytheon provides state-of-the-art electronics, mission systems integration and other capabilities in the areas of sensing; effects; and command, control, communications and intelligence systems, as well as a broad range of mission support services. With headquarters in Waltham, Mass., Raytheon employs 75,000 people worldwide. For more information please visit www.raytheon.com or contact Donald Blick, Senior Manager for Civil Space, at donald_blick@raytheon.com or at 703.284.4479.

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Washington, D.C. – Newly released results from The Tauri Group, an independent, analytic consulting firm based in Alexandria, Virginia, reveal that the new NASA Commercial Crew and Cargo Program funding in the President’s FY2011 Budget Request will result in an average of 11,800 direct jobs per year over the next five years, nationwide. The [...]

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Washington, D.C. – Newly released results from The Tauri Group, an independent, analytic consulting firm based in Alexandria, Virginia, reveal that the new NASA Commercial Crew and Cargo Program funding in the President’s FY2011 Budget Request will result in an average of 11,800 direct jobs per year over the next five years, nationwide. The Tauri Group study was commissioned by the Commercial Spaceflight Federation for an objective estimate of jobs resulting from NASA’s proposed spending of $5.8 billion on Commercial Crew and an additional $312 million on Commercial Cargo from FY2011 to FY2015. Details of the study can be found on the Tauri Group website at www.taurigroup.com.

Bretton Alexander, President of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, stated, “The Tauri Group’s analysis indicates a peak of 14,200 direct jobs in FY2012 will result from the design and development of capsules to take astronauts to and from the International Space Station, ‘human rating’ of rockets, upgrades to launch infrastructure at Cape Canaveral, launch vehicle manufacturing, and demonstration launches during the development phase.”

The Tauri Group study used a government economic impact model developed by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis and provides average job figures resulting from the assessment of over 50 possible program competition outcomes. The job figures considered only the proposed new NASA funding of $6.1 billion under the Commercial Crew and Commercial Cargo budget lines, so the job figures do not include additional private investment above the NASA funding. Additionally, jobs created by operational flights of commercial crew vehicles following their development were not included in this study, nor were activities funded under the existing Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program funding of $500 million and the follow-on operational cargo flights to the International Space Station under the $3.5 billion Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) program. Indirect and induced jobs in the communities surrounding these activities were also not included, with only direct jobs being counted.

The Tauri Group study results can be downloaded from the Tauri Group website at http://taurigroup.com/graphics/snapshots/DERPCCCEPBR.pdf .

About The Tauri Group
The Tauri Group is an innovator in analytical consulting, applying creative, responsive problem-solving to homeland security, defense, and space enterprises. Government agencies and multinational contractors trust The Tauri Group’s objectivity and vision. They know The Tauri Group brings the leading minds in homeland security, technology, aerospace, arms control, public health, and more to tackle issues with no easy answers. The company is headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia. For more information on the Tauri Group study, please visit www.taurigroup.com or contact lead analyst Paul Guthrie at The Tauri Group at 571-303-2165 or paul.guthrie@taurigroup.com, or managing partner Carissa Christensen at 703-647-8079.

About the Commercial Spaceflight Federation
The mission of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation (CSF) is to promote the development of commercial human spaceflight, pursue ever higher levels of safety, and share best practices and expertise throughout the industry. The Commercial Spaceflight Federation’s member companies, which include commercial spaceflight developers, operators, spaceports, suppliers, and service providers, are creating thousands of high-tech jobs nationwide, working to preserve American leadership in aerospace through technology innovation, and inspiring young people to pursue careers in science and engineering. For more information please visit www.commercialspaceflight.org or contact Executive Director John Gedmark at john@commercialspaceflight.org or at 202.349.1121.

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Washington, D.C. – The Commercial Spaceflight Federation is pleased to announce that Jacobs Technology, a division of Jacobs Engineering Group Inc., has joined the Federation as an Associate Member, having received unanimous approval by the organization’s Board of Directors.
Mark Sirangelo, Chairman of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, commented, “On behalf of the member companies of the [...]

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Washington, D.C. – The Commercial Spaceflight Federation is pleased to announce that Jacobs Technology, a division of Jacobs Engineering Group Inc., has joined the Federation as an Associate Member, having received unanimous approval by the organization’s Board of Directors.

Mark Sirangelo, Chairman of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, commented, “On behalf of the member companies of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, we are proud to welcome Jacobs as an Associate Member. We look forward to working with Jacobs to further our organization’s goals of promoting the development of commercial human spaceflight, pursuing ever higher levels of safety, and sharing best practices and expertise throughout the industry.”

Bretton Alexander, President of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, added, “Jacobs has a solid reputation and technical expertise in human spaceflight. As a valued member of the NASA team, Jacobs will help build the partnership between NASA and industry to develop commercial human spaceflight capabilities that are safe, reliable and cost effective, meeting both NASA’s needs and opening human spaceflight to non-government activities.”

“Commercial human spaceflight is an exciting, rapidly emerging industry, one in which we want to engage and joining the Commercial Spaceflight Federation presents a great opportunity for us to do so,” said Lon Miller, Jacobs’ sponsor for NASA Programs and General Manager of JSC’s Engineering and Science Contract Group (ESCG).

Jacobs’ Dr. Joy Kelly, ESCG Deputy General Manager and ESCG lead for Commercial Spaceflight added, “The rise of commercial human spaceflight, both suborbital and orbital, marks a milestone opportunity for the United States and NASA, and we are proud to support these efforts.”

About the Commercial Spaceflight Federation
The mission of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation (CSF) is to promote the development of commercial human spaceflight, pursue ever higher levels of safety, and share best practices and expertise throughout the industry. The Commercial Spaceflight Federation’s member companies, which include commercial spaceflight developers, operators, spaceports, suppliers, and service providers, are creating thousands of high-tech jobs nationwide, working to preserve American leadership in aerospace through technology innovation, and inspiring young people to pursue careers in science and engineering. For more information please visit www.commercialspaceflight.org or contact Executive Director John Gedmark at john@commercialspaceflight.org or at 202.349.1121.

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Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo and Masten Space Systems’ Xombie vehicle both completed milestone test flights recently over the Mojave Desert, another step on the path towards commercial suborbital flights to space.
On March 20, Masten Space Systems’ Xombie vehicle, which successfully competed in NASA’s Lunar Lander Challenge last year, reached its highest altitude yet, 1046 [...]

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Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo and Masten Space Systems’ Xombie vehicle both completed milestone test flights recently over the Mojave Desert, another step on the path towards commercial suborbital flights to space.

On March 20, Masten Space Systems’ Xombie vehicle, which successfully competed in NASA’s Lunar Lander Challenge last year, reached its highest altitude yet, 1046 feet, during a test launch. The recent flight marks another milestone towards Masten’s stated goal of providing “affordable access to space for a variety of scientific payloads” including “microgravity, space, and earth science experiments.”

On March 22, Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo, built by Scaled Composites, successfully completed its first “captive carry” atmospheric test flight at Mojave Spaceport attached to the WhiteKnightTwo mother aircraft, remaining aloft for 3 hours. “This is a momentous day for the Scaled and Virgin Teams,” said Burt Rutan, founder of Scaled Composites. “The captive carry flight signifies the start of what we believe will be extremely exciting and successful spaceship flight test program.”

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The Commercial Spaceflight Federation’s 2009 Annual Report [pdf] is now available on our website.
“This report showcases a year’s worth of exciting progress for the commercial spaceflight industry and the members of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation,” says Bretton Alexander, Commercial Spaceflight Federation President, in the opening page of the report.
The 2009 Annual Report report is available for [...]

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The Commercial Spaceflight Federation’s 2009 Annual Report [pdf] is now available on our website.

“This report showcases a year’s worth of exciting progress for the commercial spaceflight industry and the members of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation,” says Bretton Alexander, Commercial Spaceflight Federation President, in the opening page of the report.

The 2009 Annual Report report is available for download by clicking here [pdf].

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On Saturday, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson signed into law the “New Mexico Space Flight Informed Consent Act,” following similar legislation already passed in Virginia and Florida. The legislation marks a key step towards commercial operations of Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo at the New Mexico spaceport. Recognizing that commercial suborbital spaceflight is a developing [...]

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On Saturday, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson signed into law the “New Mexico Space Flight Informed Consent Act,” following similar legislation already passed in Virginia and Florida. The legislation marks a key step towards commercial operations of Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo at the New Mexico spaceport. Recognizing that commercial suborbital spaceflight is a developing industry, the law provides critical liability protections that will enable spaceflight businesses to operate efficiently and effectively for their customers.

“This legislation secures New Mexico’s investment in Spaceport America and its resulting job creation by ensuring we are competitive with other space states such as Virginia and Florida who have similar legislation in place,” said Gov. Richardson.

The state legislation builds upon the federal Commercial Space Launch Amendments Act, passed by Congress in 2004, which states that “space transportation is inherently risky” and requires space flight participants to sign an informed consent waiver in recognition of this fact.

Steve Landeene, Executive Director of Spaceport America, added, “The passage of the Space Flight Informed Consent Act was critical to the success of Spaceport America and our ability to attract and retain commercial space companies to New Mexico. Any company taking participants into space must obtain a signed waiver where they acknowledge the inherent risks of spaceflight.” Landeene said that this protects New Mexico and operators licensed by the FAA Office of Commercial Space Transportation such as Virgin Galactic, but still allows legal options in cases of gross negligence.

Spaceport America’s 10,000-foot runway is currently under construction in preparation for flights of SpaceShipTwo. Since August 2009, Spaceport America has created almost 500 construction jobs in New Mexico, with more to come.

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In the three weeks since President Obama’s plan for NASA was released on February 1st, a bipartisan group including governors, former legislators, astronauts, and former NASA senior managers has endorsed the new NASA plan, which has also been endorsed by over half a dozen editorial boards:
Op-eds:
• Gov. Bill Richardson, “Commercial Spaceflight: Creating 21st Century Jobs,” [...]

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In the three weeks since President Obama’s plan for NASA was released on February 1st, a bipartisan group including governors, former legislators, astronauts, and former NASA senior managers has endorsed the new NASA plan, which has also been endorsed by over half a dozen editorial boards:

Op-eds:
• Gov. Bill Richardson, “Commercial Spaceflight: Creating 21st Century Jobs,” Huffington Post, 2/23
• Newt Gingrich & Bob Walker, “Obama’s Brave Reboot for NASA,” Washington Times, 2/12
• James Cameron, “The Right Way Forward on Space Exploration,” Washington Post, 2/5
• Esther Dyson, “Prepare for Liftoff,” Foreign Policy, 2/8
• Buzz Aldrin, “President Obama’s JFK Moment,” Huffington Post, 2/3
• Scott Hubbard, “A Better Way to Go Where No One Has Gone Before,” San Francisco Chronicle, 2/24
• Peter Diamandis, “The Case for Private Space,” Wall Street Journal, 2/13

Editorials:
• Editorial board, Boston Globe, “While NASA Needs to Evolve, the Universe Still Beckons,” 2/15
• Editorial board, The Economist, “NASA’s New Mission: Space to Thrive,” 2/3
• Editorial board, Nature, “Divide and Conquer,” 2/11
• Editorial board, New York Times, “A New Space Program,” 2/8
• Editorial board, Philadelphia Inquirer, Worthy Enterprise,” 2/9
• Editorial board, Chicago Tribune, “President Obama Boldly Goes on A Different Course in Exploration,” 2/9
• Editorial board, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, “NASA’s Relaunch: Obama’s Budget Brings Change for the Better,” 2/6

Note: inclusion of an op-ed or editorial in this list does not imply an endorsement of its entire content by the Commercial Spaceflight Federation.

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Hailing President Obama’s new plan for NASA, Governor Bill Richardson (D-New Mexico) published an op-ed today praising the President’s plan for “creating thousands of new high-tech jobs and helping America retain its leadership role in science and technology.”
In a piece titled “Commercial Spaceflight: Creating 21st Century Jobs” in the Huffington Post, Governor Richardson states, “I [...]

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Hailing President Obama’s new plan for NASA, Governor Bill Richardson (D-New Mexico) published an op-ed today praising the President’s plan for “creating thousands of new high-tech jobs and helping America retain its leadership role in science and technology.”

In a piece titled “Commercial Spaceflight: Creating 21st Century Jobs” in the Huffington Post, Governor Richardson states, “I am pleased that President Obama and NASA chief Charlie Bolden have decided to promote commercial spaceflight — let’s get to work building this growing industry! The Wright Brothers would be proud.” The article can be found at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/gov-bill-richardson/commercial-spaceflight-cr_b_473509.html

In the op-ed, Richardson also states, “The excitement of commercial spaceflight is already inspiring kids to pursue careers in science and technology, something our nation desperately needs to remain competitive with emerging powers like China.”

“In New Mexico, our support for commercial spaceflight is already reaping benefits,” adds Richardson. “About 500 New Mexicans are now on the job, creating the first commercial spaceport in the world. Another 300 new jobs are expected this year. The spaceport is fulfilling its promise of inspiring young people to study math and science and developing our statewide economy. … The demand is there, and New Mexico will get its return on investment. Americans will get their return on investment, too.”

Image credit: State of New Mexico

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The research and education community voted with its feet last week with over 250 people turning out at the first-ever Next-Generation Suborbital Researchers Conference in Boulder, Colorado, to discuss applications of commercial suborbital vehicles being built by companies including Armadillo Aerospace, Blue Origin, Masten Space Systems, Virgin Galactic, and XCOR Aerospace.
The conference included sessions on [...]

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The research and education community voted with its feet last week with over 250 people turning out at the first-ever Next-Generation Suborbital Researchers Conference in Boulder, Colorado, to discuss applications of commercial suborbital vehicles being built by companies including Armadillo Aerospace, Blue Origin, Masten Space Systems, Virgin Galactic, and XCOR Aerospace.

The conference included sessions on astronomy, solar physics, and planetary science; life sciences; microgravity physics; technology payloads and deployable vehicles; education and public outreach; and atmospheric, ionospheric, and auroral science.

“The amount of interest in these new suborbital vehicles was immediately apparent at our Boulder conference. The excitement in the air was contagious,” said John Gedmark, Executive Director of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation.

Dr. S. Alan Stern, chair of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation’s Suborbital Applications Researchers Group (SARG) and former NASA associate administrator for science, added, “In response to the turn-out at the conference last week, Space Florida and the University of Central Florida have teamed together with us to host a second, larger Next-Generation Suborbital Researchers Conference meeting February 28 to March 1, 2011, in Orlando, Florida. I’m looking forward to that already.”

Last week’s conference included an announcement by NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver of $75 million in planned funding over five years for NASA’s Commercial Reusable Suborbital Research (CRuSR) program.

The CRuSR program was highlighted in NASA’s detailed FY2011 budget proposal released today, which states: “As commercial suborbital capabilities become available, the CRuSR program will competitively secure flight services for experiment payloads supporting NASA’s objectives in science, technology and education.” NASA’s budget also stated that “CRuSR establishes a series of suborbital flights that will yield many benefits to NASA by providing access to 3-4 minutes of microgravity for experimentation, discovery and testing. Results are expected to reduce the risk for use of new technologies in future missions by demonstrating application in the space environment, providing for routine recovery of payloads and frequent flights.”

(Above image): Some of the 200-plus attendees at the opening session. (Below image): Opening keynote speakers included, from left, Alan Stern, NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver, NASA Ames Center Director Pete Worden, Universities Space Research Association President Fred Tarantino, FAA Office of Commercial Space Transportation head George Nield, and Commercial Spaceflight Federation Chairman Mark Sirangelo. Images courtesy of Dan Durda at Southwest Research Institute.

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Washington, D.C. – The Commercial Spaceflight Federation enthusiastically welcomes NASA’s announcement today that NASA will fund dozens of science and education payloads to fly on commercial suborbital vehicles built by companies including Armadillo Aerospace, Blue Origin, Masten Space Systems, Virgin Galactic, and XCOR Aerospace.  At the first annual Next-Generation Suborbital Researchers Conference, NASA Deputy Administrator [...]

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Washington, D.C. – The Commercial Spaceflight Federation enthusiastically welcomes NASA’s announcement today that NASA will fund dozens of science and education payloads to fly on commercial suborbital vehicles built by companies including Armadillo Aerospace, Blue Origin, Masten Space Systems, Virgin Galactic, and XCOR Aerospace.  At the first annual Next-Generation Suborbital Researchers Conference, NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver announced in her keynote speech today that President Obama’s Fiscal Year 2011 budget request for NASA commits $75 million in funding over five years for the new Commercial Reusable Suborbital Research program (CRuSR). 

“We are thrilled to see NASA recognizing the enormous potential of new commercial vehicles for science, research, and education,” said Mark Sirangelo, Chairman of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation.  “NASA Deputy Administrator Garver’s announcement today means that hundreds of scientists, educators, and students will be able to fly payloads on these new commercial vehicles.”

“For the first time ever, NASA has put forward a commitment to dramatically expand the number of research and education payloads that fly into space,” said Dr. S. Alan Stern, chair of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation’s Suborbital Applications Researchers Group (SARG) and former NASA associate administrator for science.   “Since this new generation of commercial vehicles are low cost, NASA’s $75 million will open the floodgates for everyone from astronomers to high school classrooms to conduct real science in space.  This will be one of the best investments NASA has ever made.”

“For everyone who has dreamed of participating in the grand adventure of spaceflight, this $75 million commitment marks the dawn of a new space age,” added Stern.  “As the commercial space industry continues to grow, I expect that we will see increasing numbers of payloads and people flying to space.”

“I am pleased to see NASA’s recognition of the transformative potential of these new commercial vehicles,” stated Dr. Fred Tarantino, President and CEO of the Universities Space Research Association.  “The space science community is thrilled to see such a commitment to low-cost, reusable, and frequent access to space that will provide hands-on experience for students and change the way many space scientists operate.”

NASA is proposing to spend $15 million in each of five years from 2011-2015 for the CRuSR program, funds that will both go to universities and other research institutions to build science and education payloads, as well as being used to purchase flights on commercial suborbital vehicles.  The CRuSR program is based at NASA’s Ames Research Center in the heart of Silicon Valley.

The Next-Generation Suborbital Researchers Conference, a first-of-its-kind forum for bringing together scientists, educators, and vehicle developers to discuss potential research and education uses for commercial spacecraft, is being held in Boulder, Colorado and is co-organized by the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), the Universities Space Research Association (USRA), and the Commercial Spaceflight Federation (CSF).

About the Commercial Spaceflight Federation

The mission of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation (CSF) is to promote the development of commercial human spaceflight, pursue ever higher levels of safety, and share best practices and expertise throughout the industry.  CSF member organizations include commercial spaceflight developers, operators, and spaceports.  The Commercial Spaceflight Federation is governed by a board of directors, composed of the member companies’ CEO-level officers and entrepreneurs. For more information please visit www.commercialspaceflight.org or contact Executive Director John Gedmark at john@commercialspaceflight.org or at 202.349.1121.

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Washington, D.C. – At the Next-Generation Suborbital Researchers Conference today, Commercial Spaceflight Federation chairman Mark Sirangelo announced the creation of a new affiliates program for universities and other research and educational institutions. 
“Researchers, engineers, and educators will be among the primary beneficiaries of the new generation of low-cost commercial spacecraft, as payload opportunities to space start [...]

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Washington, D.C. – At the Next-Generation Suborbital Researchers Conference today, Commercial Spaceflight Federation chairman Mark Sirangelo announced the creation of a new affiliates program for universities and other research and educational institutions. 

“Researchers, engineers, and educators will be among the primary beneficiaries of the new generation of low-cost commercial spacecraft, as payload opportunities to space start to grow,” said Mark Sirangelo, Chairman of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation.  “We’re excited to create a new category of affiliate membership to strengthen the ties between the Commercial Spaceflight Federation and the research and education community.”

Initial participating universities include Purdue University, Johns Hopkins University, Princeton University, and George Mason University. 

“I am excited to see universities and other research institutions getting in on the ground floor of the emerging commercial space industry, and to see these early adopters recognizing the research and education potential of these new vehicles,” said space scientist S. Alan Stern, chair of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation’s Suborbital Applications Researchers Group (SARG) and former NASA associate administrator for science.

Benefits to affiliate institutions of joining with the Commercial Spaceflight Federation include: helping connect students with internships in the commercial spaceflight industry, becoming more connected with the commercial spaceflight community, advocacy to increase government support for research payloads on commercial vehicles, and efforts to streamline regulatory processes for research flights.

“We are looking forward to continuing to grow the collaborations between the research community and the commercial space industry,” added Sirangelo.

About the Commercial Spaceflight Federation

The mission of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation (CSF) is to promote the development of commercial human spaceflight, pursue ever higher levels of safety, and share best practices and expertise throughout the industry.  CSF member organizations include commercial spaceflight developers, operators, and spaceports.  The Commercial Spaceflight Federation is governed by a board of directors, composed of the member companies’ CEO-level officers and entrepreneurs. For more information please visit www.commercialspaceflight.org or contact Executive Director John Gedmark at john@commercialspaceflight.org or at 202.349.1121.

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Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and former House Science and Technology Committee Chairman Robert S. Walker have published an op-ed stating, “The Obama administration’s budget for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration deserves strong approval from Republicans. The 2011 spending plan for the space agency does what is obvious to anyone who cares [...]

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Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and former House Science and Technology Committee Chairman Robert S. Walker have published an op-ed stating, “The Obama administration’s budget for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration deserves strong approval from Republicans. The 2011 spending plan for the space agency does what is obvious to anyone who cares about man’s future in space and what presidential commissions have been recommending for nearly a decade.”

Their op-ed in The Washington Times, titled “Obama’s Brave Reboot for NASA,” can be read at http://washingtontimes.com/news/2010/feb/12/obamas-brave-reboot-for-nasa/

In the op-ed, Gingrich and Walker state, “Bipartisan cooperation has been difficult to achieve in Congress, but here is a chance. By looking forward, NASA has given us a way to move forward. It deserves broad support for daring to challenge the status quo.”

Gingrich, who is on the board of governors of the National Space Society, and Walker, who was chairman of the Commission on the Future of the United States Aerospace Industry, add, “In the same way the railroads opened the American West, commercial access can open vast new opportunities in space.” They state that commercial spaceflight “has the potential of creating thousands of new jobs, largely the kind of high-tech work to which our nation should aspire.”

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James Cameron, the writer and director of “Avatar” and “Titanic” who served on the NASA Advisory Council from 2003 to 2005, has published an op-ed in The Washington Post endorsing commercial human spaceflight and President Obama’s new plan for NASA. The op-ed, titled “The right way forward on space exploration,” can be read at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/04/AR2010020402439.html?hpid=opinionsbox1
In [...]

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James Cameron, the writer and director of “Avatar” and “Titanic” who served on the NASA Advisory Council from 2003 to 2005, has published an op-ed in The Washington Post endorsing commercial human spaceflight and President Obama’s new plan for NASA. The op-ed, titled “The right way forward on space exploration,” can be read at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/04/AR2010020402439.html?hpid=opinionsbox1

In the op-ed, Cameron states, “By selecting commercial solutions for transportation to the international space station, NASA is empowering American free enterprise to do what it does best: develop technology quickly and efficiently in a competitive environment.”

Cameron concludes the op-ed stating, “I applaud President Obama’s bold decision for NASA to focus on building a space exploration program that can drive innovation and provide inspiration for the world. This is the path that can make our dreams in space a reality.”

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Washington, D.C. – At a National Press Club event to “introduce new commercial space pioneers,” the President’s Science Advisor John Holdren and NASA Administrator Charles Bolden yesterday praised the seven winning companies of NASA’s Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) and Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) competitions. This event followed the announcement on February 1 by [...]

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Washington, D.C. – At a National Press Club event to “introduce new commercial space pioneers,” the President’s Science Advisor John Holdren and NASA Administrator Charles Bolden yesterday praised the seven winning companies of NASA’s Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) and Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) competitions. This event followed the announcement on February 1 by the White House that NASA would use commercial spaceflight providers to transport NASA astronauts to the International Space Station.

The President’s Science Advisor praised the “complementary strength between NASA and the private sector in order to make human access both to low-Earth orbit and beyond to deep space faster, safer and more affordable.” NASA Administrator Bolden added that with regard to commercial spaceflight, “It’s not a new idea, but rather, an idea whose time has come. The future is unfolding before us now, and it couldn’t be more exciting… Kids will be able to realistically envision a career that involves space, either going there or using it.”

Bretton Alexander, President of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, added, “The President’s new commercial crew initiative is on course to accelerate the growth of a vibrant 21st century commercial spaceflight industry, creating thousands of high-tech jobs and inspiring a new generation.”

Executives from Sierra Nevada Corporation, Boeing, United Launch Alliance, Blue Origin, Orbital Sciences, Paragon Space Development Corporation, and SpaceX came to Washington DC to attend the event. Introducing these seven companies and their executives at the press event, Administrator Bolden stated, “These are the faces of the new frontier… We will certainly be adding to this group in the near future.”
SpaceX and Orbital Sciences are the funded participants in NASA’s ongoing COTS program for commercial resupply of the Space Station, and Sierra Nevada Corporation, Boeing, United Launch Alliance, Blue Origin, and Paragon Space Development Corporation were awarded $50 million in seed money for commercial crew through the CCDev program, intended as the precursor to a full $6 billion Commercial Crew Program proposed by NASA. Both the CCDev and COTS programs are commercially structured so that NASA pays only when performance milestones are met.

Alexander added, “To have a large and diverse group of companies present at today’s event, including both established contractors and newer entrants, emphasizes that U.S. industry is ready to handle the task of commercial human spaceflight. Commercial spaceflight means growing an entire industry that will generate returns to our economy and allow America to stop sending billions of dollars to Russia to fly our astronauts.”

In addition to other companies that are developing commercial space vehicles, the seven companies featured in the press conference were:
• Sierra Nevada Corporation, which will receive $20 million in CCDev funds for development milestones for a seven-person spacecraft known as Dreamchaser which will launch on Atlas V.
• The Boeing Company, which will receive $18 million in CCDev funds for development milestones for a seven-person crew capsule for low Earth orbit transportation. Boeing partnered with Bigelow Aerospace, which is developing a series of habitable orbital complexes with two prototypes already in orbit.
• United Launch Alliance, a joint venture of Boeing and Lockheed Martin that operates the Atlas and Delta rockets, which will receive $6.7 million in milestone-based CCDev funds to begin developing an emergency detection system for ULA launch systems.
• Blue Origin, which will receive $3.7 million in milestone-based CCDev funds to develop a composite crew test module and a launch escape system for its commercial spaceflight vehicle.
• Orbital Sciences, which has been awarded $171 million in milestone-based COTS funds and received a follow-on contract for International Space Station missions, and is preparing its Taurus II rocket and Cygnus capsule for initial launches in 2011.
• Paragon Space Development Corporation, which will receive $1.4 million in milestone-based CCDev funds for the development of an air revitalization system for use in crewed spacecraft.
• SpaceX, which has been awarded $278 million in milestone-based COTS funds and received a follow-on contract for International Space Station missions, and is preparing its Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule for initial launches this year.

About the Commercial Spaceflight Federation
The mission of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation (CSF) is to promote the development of commercial human spaceflight, pursue ever higher levels of safety, and share best practices and expertise throughout the industry. CSF member organizations include commercial spaceflight developers, operators, and spaceports. The Commercial Spaceflight Federation is governed by a board of directors, composed of the member companies’ CEO-level officers and entrepreneurs. For more information please visit www.commercialspaceflight.org or contact Executive Director John Gedmark at john@commercialspaceflight.org or at 202.349.1121.

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Washington, D.C., February 1, 2010 – The Commercial Spaceflight Federation welcomes the decision today by President Barack Obama to place U.S. human spaceflight on a new trajectory with major investments in technology, science, exploration, and commercial spaceflight. As part of this plan, NASA’s new competitive commercial crew initiative will invest $6 billion over five [...]

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Washington, D.C., February 1, 2010 – The Commercial Spaceflight Federation welcomes the decision today by President Barack Obama to place U.S. human spaceflight on a new trajectory with major investments in technology, science, exploration, and commercial spaceflight. As part of this plan, NASA’s new competitive commercial crew initiative will invest $6 billion over five years for multiple companies to develop human spaceflight capabilities that will take astronauts to and from the International Space Station.

“President Obama has given NASA a bold and exciting new mission: to once again push the limits in technology and exploration, promote innovation, and foster a vibrant commercial spaceflight sector,” said Bretton Alexander, President of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation. “In particular, the commercial crew initiative will create thousands of new high-tech jobs, help open the space frontier with lower-cost launches, and inspire a new generation with high-profile missions. This initiative is on par with the government Airmail Act that spurred the growth of early aviation and led to today’s passenger airline industry, which generates billions of dollars annually for the American economy.”

The Commercial Spaceflight Federation is also congratulating today the winners of $50 million in seed money from the Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) competition, which is NASA’s precursor to the full $6 billion commercial crew program. Boeing, United Launch Alliance (ULA), Paragon Space Development Corporation, Blue Origin, and Sierra Nevada Corporation were selected as winners in the CCDev program, which aims to demonstrate hardware milestones on the path to commercial human spaceflight.

Alexander added, “Investing in commercial spaceflight will allow us to create U.S. jobs, rather than continuing to send billions of dollars to Russia to fly our astronauts to space. With so many capable American companies here at home, why would we send all of U.S. human spaceflight to Russia? Let’s create those thousands of jobs right here in the United States.”

Alexander stated, “Commercial crew will reduce the gap in U.S. human spaceflight by using launch vehicles that are either already flying today or are close to launch, such as the Atlas, Taurus, and Falcon. To build orbital capsules for these existing launch vehicles is on a comparable level to the Gemini program in the 1960s, which required only about three years from contract signed to the first flight of a crew.”

“Using demonstrated launch vehicles will not only reduce the gap, but help ensure safety,” emphasized Alexander. “Upcoming cargo flights mean that the Atlas, Taurus, and Falcon rockets will have long track records by the time astronauts are placed onboard. Safety is paramount for the commercial spaceflight industry – commercial spaceflight providers are already trusted by the U.S. government right now to launch multi-billion dollar military satellites, upon which the lives of our troops overseas depend. And over a dozen distinguished former NASA astronauts, including Buzz Aldrin, published an op-ed a few months ago in the Wall Street Journal stating that commercial companies can safely handle the task of low-Earth orbit transportation.”

Alexander concluded, “With President Obama’s historic decision, we stand on the threshold of a new era in space. The commercial spaceflight industry is working to extend the legacy of the Wright Brothers into space, for the mutual benefit of both NASA and the nation.”

About the Commercial Spaceflight Federation
The mission of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation (CSF) is to promote the development of commercial human spaceflight, pursue ever higher levels of safety, and share best practices and expertise throughout the industry. CSF member organizations include commercial spaceflight developers, operators, and spaceports. The Commercial Spaceflight Federation is governed by a board of directors, composed of the member companies’ CEO-level officers and entrepreneurs. For more information please visit www.commercialspaceflight.org or contact Executive Director John Gedmark at john@commercialspaceflight.org or at 202.349.1121.

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Washington, D.C. – The Commercial Spaceflight Federation is issuing the following statement applauding NASA’s anticipated announcement of a $6 billion competitive, commercial crew program and welcoming the President’s show of support for NASA with his significant planned increase for NASA’s overall budget:
Bretton Alexander, President of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation:
“NASA investment in the commercial spaceflight industry [...]

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Washington, D.C. – The Commercial Spaceflight Federation is issuing the following statement applauding NASA’s anticipated announcement of a $6 billion competitive, commercial crew program and welcoming the President’s show of support for NASA with his significant planned increase for NASA’s overall budget:

Bretton Alexander, President of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation:

“NASA investment in the commercial spaceflight industry is a win-win decision: commercial crew will create thousands of high-tech jobs in the United States, especially in Florida, while reducing the spaceflight gap and preventing us from sending billions to Russia. This is on par with the early days of aviation and the U.S. Airmail Act, which spurred the growth of an entire new industry that now adds billions to the US economy every year.”

“At a time when job creation is the top priority for our nation, a commercial crew program will create more jobs per dollar because it leverages millions in private investment and taps the potential of systems that serve both government and private customers. We have a tremendous opportunity here to jump-start private activity in low-Earth orbit that will further lower the cost of access to space and unleash the economic potential of space long promised.”

“Working with NASA, industry can develop the capabilities to safely launch U.S. astronauts just as commercial spaceflight providers are already trusted by the U.S. government right now to launch multi-billion dollar military satellites, upon which the security of our Nation and lives of our troops overseas depend. Investing $6 billion will fund a full program of multiple winners for commercial crew, so that robust competition in the marketplace can reduce costs and generate innovation. We are excited to see such a significant commitment from the Obama Administration and NASA leadership for pursuing this important initiative for NASA and the nation.”

About the Commercial Spaceflight Federation
The mission of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation (CSF) is to promote the development of commercial human spaceflight, pursue ever higher levels of safety, and share best practices and expertise throughout the industry. CSF member organizations include commercial spaceflight developers, operators, and spaceports. The Commercial Spaceflight Federation is governed by a board of directors, composed of the member companies’ CEO-level officers and entrepreneurs. For more information please visit http://www.commercialspaceflight.org or contact Executive Director John Gedmark at john@commercialspaceflight.org or at 202.349.1121.

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Washington, D.C. – The Commercial Spaceflight Federation released the following statement on the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel’s 2009 annual report:
While the Commercial Spaceflight Federation agrees with the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP) on its recognition of the importance of commercial spaceflight both for cargo and crew missions, the Commercial Spaceflight Federation disagrees with certain other [...]

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Washington, D.C. – The Commercial Spaceflight Federation released the following statement on the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel’s 2009 annual report:

While the Commercial Spaceflight Federation agrees with the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP) on its recognition of the importance of commercial spaceflight both for cargo and crew missions, the Commercial Spaceflight Federation disagrees with certain other conclusions and finds some of the assertions in the ASAP’s Annual Report to be incorrect.

The Commercial Spaceflight Federation commends the ASAP on their finding in the ASAP 2009 Annual Report that commercial spaceflight “is emerging as one of the critical programs for NASA” and that “if there is a widening gap, COTS could play a key role and could be a critical program for flight safety of the astronauts.”

The Commercial Spaceflight Federation agrees with the ASAP that NASA must “quickly establish fundamental safety requirements for…programs that may in the future be used to get NASA’s astronauts to Low Earth Orbit (LEO)” and agrees with the ASAP’s direction to NASA that “considerable work must be done,” and that NASA should “accelerate the level of effort underway.” To aid this process, the commercial space industry stands ready to begin working now with NASA to agree on a commercial human-rating plan, including the appropriate standards, requirements for vehicles to meet those standards, and the mechanism by which compliance with those standards will be validated, and industry has established a Commercial Orbital Spaceflight Safety Working Group to engage with NASA and FAA.

Since the ASAP correctly points out that NASA has not yet developed standards and processes for human-rating commercial vehicles, the Commercial Spaceflight Federation disagrees with ASAP’s implication that safety will be compromised because “no COTS manufacturer is currently HRR qualified,” because, quite simply, it is impossible for companies to meet standards that do not currently exist. Until such time as commercial human-rating standards are determined, industry continues to develop vehicle hardware based on the only standards available: those NASA established for its own vehicles, known as NPR 8705.2B. As no commercial provider has yet been tasked by NASA to begin working through a NASA human-rating process, for the ASAP to state that “no COTS manufacturer is currently HRR qualified” is akin to saying that someone didn’t pass his driver’s test when he’s still waiting in line at the DMV and hasn’t even been given the exam yet.

The ASAP’s repeated references to the two “COTS firms” ignores the fact that many companies, including both established firms and new entrants, will compete in the Commercial Crew Program envisioned by the Augustine Committee. While the Falcon 9 and Taurus II vehicles have already met numerous hardware milestones and will have a substantial track record by the time any astronauts are placed onboard, several other potential Commercial Crew providers envision use of launch vehicles such as the Atlas V, vehicles that are already entrusted by the government to launch multi-billion dollar national security payloads upon which the lives of our troops overseas depend.

Despite the ASAP Report’s contention that commercial vehicles are “nothing more than unsubstantiated claims,” the demonstrated track records of commercial vehicles and numerous upcoming manifested cargo flights ensure that no astronaut will fly on a commercial vehicle that lacks a long, proven track record. The Atlas V, for example, has a record of 19 consecutive successful launches and the Atlas family of rockets has had over 90 consecutive successes, and dozens of flights of the Atlas, Taurus, and Falcon vehicles are scheduled to occur before 2014 in addition to successful flights already completed.

Further, thirteen former NASA astronauts, who have accumulated a total of 42 space missions, stated in a recent Wall Street Journal op-ed that commercial spaceflight can be conducted safely:
      “We are fully confident that the commercial spaceflight sector can provide a level of safety equal to that offered by the venerable Russian Soyuz system, which has flown safely for the last 38 years, and exceeding that of the Space Shuttle. Commercial transportation systems using boosters such as the Atlas V, Taurus II, or Falcon 9 will have the advantage of multiple unmanned flights to build a track record of safe operations prior to carrying humans. These vehicles are already set to fly over 40 flights to orbit in the next four years.”

In contrast, ASAP describes the Ares I as “demonstrated” despite the fact the Augustine Committee determined the Ares I vehicle will likely not fly until 2017, and the ASAP ignores the fact that NASA is planning to place astronauts on the second orbital flight of the Ares I system. As Constellation program manager Jeff Hanley recently stated, placing astronauts on these early Ares I flights poses a safety risk equal to or worse than that of the current Space Shuttle:
      “What at least some of our work suggests is that, yes, on the second launch the LOC [loss of crew] risk may be roughly on par with today’s mature shuttle risk. Other assessments are less rosy (a little riskier than a shuttle launch).”

The Commercial Spaceflight Federation disagrees with the ASAP’s characterization of a Commercial Crew Program as an “alternative” to Ares I, because these two systems fulfill very different missions – Commercial Crew is not an alternative to systems designed to travel beyond Low Earth Orbit (LEO). Commercial Crew is akin to developing a Gemini spacecraft for low Earth orbit, rather than an Apollo spacecraft for reaching the Moon. The Orion exploration vehicle, for example, must reenter the atmosphere at one-and-a-half times orbital velocity, encountering nearly double the heat loads that a LEO-only spacecraft would encounter. Because it serves a simpler mission, any vehicle that is designed simply to service the Space Station and other LEO destinations will be more cost-effective without sacrificing safety.

The ASAP mischaracterized how safety was treated by The Review of U.S. Human Space Flight Plans Committee (also known as the “Augustine Committee”). The ASAP’s 2009 Annual Report perpetuates the unfortunate misconception that the Augustine Committee inappropriately assumed safety to be a “given” (here the ASAP appears to be misquoting the Augustine Committee’s statement that safety was treated as “sine qua non” – in fact, “sine qua non” is universally defined as “something absolutely indispensable or essential”).  As Norm Augustine stated in a Congressional hearing, safety was “the number one issue for us [the Committee] to consider.”  The Augustine Committee, whose 10 members have cumulatively amassed 293 years of space industry experience, spent an extensive amount of time on safety issues and determined that “the Committee… would not suggest that a commercial service be provided for transportation of NASA crew if NASA could not be convinced that it was substantially safe.” In contrast, the ASAP stated it has “not yet had the opportunity to evaluate any of these [commercial] concepts with regard to inherent safety issues.”

About the Commercial Spaceflight Federation
The mission of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation (CSF) is to promote the development of commercial human spaceflight, pursue ever higher levels of safety, and share best practices and expertise throughout the industry. CSF member organizations include commercial spaceflight developers, operators, and spaceports. The Commercial Spaceflight Federation is governed by a board of directors, composed of the member companies’ CEO-level officers and entrepreneurs. For more information please visit www.commercialspaceflight.org or contact Executive Director John Gedmark at john@commercialspaceflight.org or at 202.349.1121.

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Washington, D.C. – Showcasing the growing interest in conducting research and education missions aboard commercial suborbital spacecraft, eleven researchers including members of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation’s Suborbital Applications Researchers Group (SARG) successfully completed a training program yesterday at The National Aerospace Training and Research (NASTAR) Center in Pennsylvania.
The training included classroom instruction, altitude chamber training, [...]

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Washington, D.C. – Showcasing the growing interest in conducting research and education missions aboard commercial suborbital spacecraft, eleven researchers including members of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation’s Suborbital Applications Researchers Group (SARG) successfully completed a training program yesterday at The National Aerospace Training and Research (NASTAR) Center in Pennsylvania.

The training included classroom instruction, altitude chamber training, multi-axis centrifuge training for launch and reentry accelerations, and several distraction factor exercises, simulating the conditions that scientist-astronauts will experience during future missions to 100 km altitude.

“For this diverse group of scientists to invest their own time and money for astronaut training is a true testament to the growing excitement behind the science potential of new commercial spacecraft,” said Dr. S. Alan Stern, chairman of SARG and a principal organizer of the scientist training program. “Interest was so high that we’ve already filled up a second class of a dozen scientists for spring 2010.”

“Just as important was the training success rate from this week,” added Stern. “Of the 11 scientists, a diverse group of men and women ranging from 26 to 52 years old, 100% of them passed the centrifuge training, and all but one passed the altitude chamber training. That’s not only impressive, but bodes well for regular researchers being able to accompany their laboratory equipment to space in the years to come.”

“We are constantly impressed with the enthusiasm of the scientific community for the potential of next-generation commercial reusable spacecraft, such as those being developed by Armadillo Aerospace, Blue Origin, Masten Space Systems, Virgin Galactic, and XCOR Aerospace,” added John Gedmark, Executive Director of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation. “We’ve had tremendous interest at recent science workshops we’ve conducted at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the American Geophysical Union annual conference, and the Aerospace Medical Association annual conference, with over 150 scientists attending in total.”

Brienna Henwood, Business Development and Program Manager for Space and Research at The NASTAR Center, stated, “I am thrilled to add the Suborbital Scientist Course to our current offerings. The course is more than just physiology training, it provides an overview about suborbital research and is ideal for anyone interested in learning more about the growing opportunities that rest within the commercial spaceflight industry.”

Institutions sending researchers, students and graduate students to the inaugural program included Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), Boston University, the Denver Museum of Natural Sciences (DMNS), the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the University of Central Florida (UCF) and the Universities Space Research Association (USRA).

About the Commercial Spaceflight Federation
The mission of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation (CSF) is to promote the development of commercial human spaceflight, pursue ever higher levels of safety, and share best practices and expertise throughout the industry. CSF member organizations include commercial spaceflight developers, operators, and spaceports. The Commercial Spaceflight Federation is governed by a board of directors, composed of the member companies’ CEO-level officers and entrepreneurs. For more information please visit www.commercialspaceflight.org or contact Executive Director John Gedmark at john@commercialspaceflight.org or at 202.349.1121.

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Washington, D.C.– NASA’s Deputy Administrator, Lori Garver, will be the opening keynote speaker at the Next-Generation Suborbital Researchers Conference on February 18-20, 2010, at which scientists, engineers, educators, and vehicle developers will gather to discuss the research and education benefits of new commercial suborbital spacecraft.
The conference, co-organized by the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, the Universities Space [...]

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Washington, D.C.– NASA’s Deputy Administrator, Lori Garver, will be the opening keynote speaker at the Next-Generation Suborbital Researchers Conference on February 18-20, 2010, at which scientists, engineers, educators, and vehicle developers will gather to discuss the research and education benefits of new commercial suborbital spacecraft.

The conference, co-organized by the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, the Universities Space Research Association (USRA), and the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), will take place in Boulder, Colorado. Deputy Administrator Garver is scheduled to speak on the opening day of the conference on Thursday, February 18.

“We are honored to have Lori Garver keynote the Next-Generation Suborbital Researchers Conference,” said Bretton Alexander, President of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation. “The commercial spaceflight industry is excited to work with NASA and other government agencies to utilize new commercial vehicles for science, technology development, workforce development, and education. Companies such as Blue Origin, Masten Space Systems, Virgin Galactic, Armadillo Aerospace, and XCOR Aerospace are developing and testing suborbital vehicles that will enable exciting new scientific and research applications.”

Space scientist and lead conference organizer Dr. S. Alan Stern, chair of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation’s Suborbital Applications Researchers Group (SARG), stated, “The Next-Generation Suborbital Researchers Conference will mark a watershed moment in the growth of research and education applications for these new commercial spacecraft.” Stern, who also serves as Associate Vice President at the Southwest Research Institute, added, “Lori Garver will join an all-star lineup of speakers that includes Dr. Pete Worden, NASA Ames Research Center Director; Dr. George Nield, Associate Administrator of the FAA Office of Commercial Space Transportation; former NASA astronauts Rick Searfoss and Sam Durrance; and a multidisciplinary group of leading scientists, engineers, and educators. We encourage anyone with an interest in this growing new industry to come and join us in Boulder, Colorado next month.”

For more information and to register for the Next-Generation Suborbital Researchers Conference, visit http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/nsrc2010/. A discount for early pre-registration is available through Friday, January 15, 2010.

Lori B. Garver has served as Deputy Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration since July 17, 2009. As deputy administrator, Garver is NASA’s second in command. She is responsible to the administrator for providing overall leadership, planning, and policy direction for the agency. Garver represents NASA to the Executive Office of the President, Congress, heads of government agencies, international organizations, and external organizations and communities. She also oversees the work of NASA’s functional offices, including the Office of the Chief Financial Officer, Office of General Counsel and Office of Strategic Communications.

About the Commercial Spaceflight Federation
The mission of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation (CSF) is to promote the development of commercial human spaceflight, pursue ever higher levels of safety, and share best practices and expertise throughout the industry. CSF member organizations include commercial spaceflight developers, operators, and spaceports. The Commercial Spaceflight Federation is governed by a board of directors, composed of the member companies’ CEO-level officers and entrepreneurs. For more information please visit www.commercialspaceflight.org or contact Executive Director John Gedmark at john@commercialspaceflight.org or at 202.349.1121.

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Commercial spaceflight is featured in this week’s cover story of Aviation Week and Space Technology, which has selected “The Space Entrepreneur” as its 2009 Person of the Year.
“Space entrepreneurs had a big influence on aerospace in 2009,” write Aviation Week editors Frank Morring and Guy Norris, “although it does not begin to compare with the [...]

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Commercial spaceflight is featured in this week’s cover story of Aviation Week and Space Technology, which has selected “The Space Entrepreneur” as its 2009 Person of the Year.

“Space entrepreneurs had a big influence on aerospace in 2009,” write Aviation Week editors Frank Morring and Guy Norris, “although it does not begin to compare with the impact they are likely to have in years to come.”

“After receiving more than $1 billion in private capital, NASA has recently awarded space entrepreneurs with multi-billion dollar contracts for transporting cargo to the International Space Station, and may rely on them to transport astronauts once the space shuttle fleet is retired,” Aviation Week noted in a press release accompanying the cover story.

“We’re at the beginning of a new era in access to space… an era of commercial human spaceflight,” added former astronaut Tom Henricks, president of Aviation Week, in the press release. “It’s exciting that entrepreneurs are pursuing opportunities in space. Only about five hundred people have been to space in the past half century. AVIATION WEEK is proud to recognize these innovative individuals for their enormous contributions to making space accessible to many more in the near future.”

The Aviation Week cover image features Masten Space Systems ’ CEO, Dave Masten, whose company recently won $1.15 million in the NASA Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander X PRIZE Challenge for successful flights of its vertical-takeoff vertical-landing vehicles.  The Aviation Week article also mentions the suborbital science workshops that have been organized by the Commercial Spaceflight Federation to discuss the science, research, and education applications of commercial spaceflight.

(The cover story and accompanying press release are available online from Aviation Week.)

Image credit: Aviation Week and Space Technology

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Popular Science is featuring the commercial spaceflight industry as its January 2010 cover story, in an article titled “The New Space Rush.”  “By the measure of private investment,” says Popular Science, “there is clearly more market optimism than ever before about private industry’s ability to do the job [of Low Earth Orbit transportation], for both [...]

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Popular Science is featuring the commercial spaceflight industry as its January 2010 cover story, in an article titled “The New Space Rush.”  “By the measure of private investment,” says Popular Science, “there is clearly more market optimism than ever before about private industry’s ability to do the job [of Low Earth Orbit transportation], for both passengers and payloads.”  Click here to read the full Popular Science article online.

Article author Sam Verhovek emphasizes the partnership between NASA and the private sector.  He writes that commercial spaceflight providers can “handle comparatively short-range tasks while NASA focuses on the farther reaches of space.”  The commercial spaceflight sector strongly supports NASA’s mission of exploration, and believes that NASA and commercial activities are complementary, not competitive.  Commercial spaceflight in Low Earth Orbit will help enable NASA to focus its resources on the worthwhile endeavor of exploration beyond Earth orbit.  Reducing the U.S. reliance on Russia to launch American astronauts, supporting full utilization of the Space Station, opening the space frontier to more individuals, and helping to inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers are among the other key aspects of this growing industry.

Bretton Alexander, the President of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, is quoted in the Popular Science article saying, ”The rationale here is that NASA needs to do the hard stuff and leave the simpler stuff—granted, human spaceflight is not an easy thing, but it is something we’ve been doing for 50 years—if it wants to go beyond.  NASA can actually focus on doing the cool stuff [beyond Low Earth Orbit] and over the long term, you have an industry that is not only focused on NASA. NASA becomes a user, not the sole provider.”

Image credit: Popular Science

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Astronauts, researchers, educators, senior government officials including the director of NASA’s Ames Research Center, Dr. Pete Worden, and the head of the FAA’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation, Dr. George Nield, and representatives from commercial space companies and the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, will be among the speakers at the Next-Generation Suborbital Researchers Conference on February [...]

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Astronauts, researchers, educators, senior government officials including the director of NASA’s Ames Research Center, Dr. Pete Worden, and the head of the FAA’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation, Dr. George Nield, and representatives from commercial space companies and the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, will be among the speakers at the Next-Generation Suborbital Researchers Conference on February 18-20, 2010. The agenda and speaker list for the conference, which will take place in Boulder, Colorado, was publicly released today and is available for download by clicking here [pdf].

The Next-Generation Suborbital Researchers Conference, which is being convened by the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), the Universities Space Research Association (USRA), the Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI), and the Commercial Spaceflight Federation (CSF), is intended to allow scientists, engineers, and educators to learn about the research and education capabilities of commercial suborbital spacecraft, and to hear from this broad research community on potential research and education applications and user requirements.

The list of sessions for the conference is as follows:

Wednesday, February 17, 2010
5:00 pm: Welcome Reception

Thursday, February 18, 2010
8:30 am: Opening Session – Welcome and Keynotes
10:30 am: Research and Education Capabilities of Next-Generation Suborbital Vehicles Session I
12:15 pm: Press conference
1:30 pm: Research and Education Capabilities of Next-Generation Suborbital Vehicles Session II
3:30 pm: Payload Specialist and Researchers/Educator Roles in Next-Gen Suborbital Missions
4:30 pm: Student Suborbital Experiment Proposals
4:30 pm: Commercial Aspects/Other
7:30 pm: Public Lectures at the University of Colorado – Fiske Planetarium

Friday, February 19, 2010
8:00 am: Astronomy, Solar Physics, and Planetary Science Session I
8:00 am: Microgravity Physics Session I
8:00 am: Technology Payloads and Symposium on Deployable Vehicles Session I
10:30 am: Astronomy, Solar Physics, and Planetary Science Session II
10:30 am: Education and Public Outreach Session I (Outreach)
10:30 am: Atmospheric, Ionospheric, and Auroral Science Session I
2:00 pm: Life Sciences Session I
2:00 pm: Education and Public Outreach Session II (Education)
2:00 pm: Technology Payloads and Symposium on Deployable Vehicles Session II
7:00 pm: NASA Commercial Reusable Suborbital Research (CRuSR) Panel Discussion

Saturday, February 20, 2010
8:30 am: Life Sciences Session II
8:30 am: Microgravity Physics Session II
8:30 am: Atmospheric, Ionospheric, and Auroral Science Session II
10:30 am: Desired Next-Generation Vehicle Attributes for Research and Education Missions
11:30 am: Closing Session

To register for the conference, please click here.

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NASA’s Centennial Challenges prize program, FAA’s Spaceports Infrastructure Grants initiative, and the new NASA Commercial Reusable Suborbital Research program (CRuSR) gained momentum after receiving funding in the NASA and FAA appropriations bills for Fiscal Year 2010, passed by Congress and signed by the President last week. The Commercial Spaceflight Federation conducted advocacy efforts for these [...]

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NASA’s Centennial Challenges prize program, FAA’s Spaceports Infrastructure Grants initiative, and the new NASA Commercial Reusable Suborbital Research program (CRuSR) gained momentum after receiving funding in the NASA and FAA appropriations bills for Fiscal Year 2010, passed by Congress and signed by the President last week. The Commercial Spaceflight Federation conducted advocacy efforts for these NASA and FAA programs as part of the CSF’s legislative agenda for this year.

NASA Centennial Challenges: $4 million in funding is being appropriated for new NASA prizes to promote technology innovation, the first time in 5 years that Centennial Challenges has received new funding. This new funding, at the full level requested by NASA in Fiscal Year 2010, builds on the success of Centennial Challenges throughout this year, in which NASA awarded a total of $3.65 million for innovation successes, including $1.65 million for the Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander X PRIZE Challenge which was won by Masten Space Systems and Armadillo Aerospace. Prizes are an innovative mechanism for technology advancement that is supported by the commercial spaceflight sector, and the funds will allow NASA to develop and announce more new prizes in the coming year.

FAA Space Transportation Infrastructure Matching Grants (STIM-Grants): An initial amount of $500,000 in Fiscal Year 2010 will be competitively awarded to spaceports nationwide through FAA’s spaceport grant program, the first time the grant program has been funded since being created in 1993. The grants will be awarded by the FAA’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation (AST) under Dr. George Nield to allow spaceports to support operations and protect public safety. Existing and proposed spaceports in California, Florida, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Virginia / Maryland, Alaska, Wisconsin, Indiana, and other states, will be eligible for these competitively-awarded grants. In addition to promoting safety, the STIM-Grants program is expected to increase the competitiveness of U.S. launch facilities and create new jobs.

NASA Commercial Reusable Suborbital Research Program (CRuSR): The CRuSR program will fly science, technology, and education payloads aboard next-generation commercial suborbital spacecraft. In addition to funds for the CRuSR program that are expected to come from NASA’s Science Mission Directorate (SMD) and the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate (ESMD), NASA received $1 million of new funding in Fiscal Year 2010 for the Innovative Partnership Program’s “Innovation Incubator” account, which includes the FAST program for flights on zero-g parabolic aircraft and funding for the Commercial Reusable Suborbital Research (CRuSR) program. Funding for FAST, formally known as the Facilitated Access to the Space Environment for Technology Development and Training Program, had been zeroed out in the previous year.

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SpaceShipTwo, intended to carry passengers and scientific payloads into suborbital space, is being unveiled today by Virgin Galactic in Mojave, California. SpaceShipTwo was developed for Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic by the engineering firm Scaled Composites, a team that includes aerospace pioneer Burt Rutan.
This reusable spacecraft will take two pilots and six passengers [...]

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SpaceShipTwo, intended to carry passengers and scientific payloads into suborbital space, is being unveiled today by Virgin Galactic in Mojave, California. SpaceShipTwo was developed for Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic by the engineering firm Scaled Composites, a team that includes aerospace pioneer Burt Rutan.

This reusable spacecraft will take two pilots and six passengers to space after first being carried aloft by the WhiteKnightTwo carrier aircraft, which has already been undergoing test flights for a year. SpaceShipTwo will conduct flights of passengers and science payloads to space from Spaceport America near Las Cruces, New Mexico.

Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Galactic, stated, “This is truly a momentous day. The team has created not only a world first but also a work of art. The unveil of SS2 takes the Virgin Galactic vision to the next level and continues to provide tangible evidence that this ambitious project is not only moving rapidly, but also making tremendous progress towards our goal of safe commercial operation.”

Bretton Alexander, President of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, commented, “Just a few years ago, SpaceShipOne became the first new U.S. human spacecraft to be unveiled since the Space Shuttle over twenty years ago. Today’s rollout of SpaceShipTwo, the first human spacecraft built for routine commercial operations, is an even more exciting milestone for the commercial spaceflight sector.”

Alexander added, “SpaceShipTwo marks the start of a new wave of commercial spacecraft that will provide frequent and low-cost access to space for people and science payloads.”

According to Virgin Galactic, “The emergence of new commercial space companies like Virgin Galactic will be an engine for employment, growth and the creation of a new technology and science base in the United States… the Virgin Galactic project alone is creating significant opportunities for employment in both the company itself and with suppliers in both California and New Mexico. Approximately 600 people are now working on activities relating to the project and it is estimated that this figure will rise to over 1,100 jobs during the peak of the construction phase at the space port and through the introduction of the commercial space vehicles into regular astronaut service.”

The precursor vehicle to SpaceShipTwo, the SpaceShipOne vehicle unveiled in 2003, became the first private human spacecraft to reach space in 2004 and won the $10 million Ansari X PRIZE for commercial spaceflight.

Image credit (showing WhiteKnightTwo and SpaceShipTwo): Virgin Galactic

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Jeff Greason, Vice-Chairman of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation and CEO of XCOR Aerospace, testified before the Aviation Subcommittee of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure on Wednesday, December 2.
In his opening statement, Greason said the current regulatory regime for commercial spaceflight, as framed by the Commercial Space Launch Amendments Act of 2004, [...]

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Jeff Greason, Vice-Chairman of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation and CEO of XCOR Aerospace, testified before the Aviation Subcommittee of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure on Wednesday, December 2.

In his opening statement, Greason said the current regulatory regime for commercial spaceflight, as framed by the Commercial Space Launch Amendments Act of 2004, “has boosted the confidence of investors, entrepreneurs, and customers,” and “has encouraged development of several suborbital vehicles to address scientific research and education markets as well as spaceflight participants, and investments in commercial spacecraft for carriage of cargo and humans to and from Earth orbit.”

Addressing safety, Greason stated, “The need to find a better, safer way to operate is what motivates the industry.”

Greason’s testimony before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee took place on the same day as CSF President Bretton Alexander’s testimony in a separate hearing before the House Science Committee, both on the topic of commercial spaceflight.

Greason praised the FAA’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation (AST), stating that “AST has done a good job of implementing the statute” of the Commercial Space Launch Amendments Act of 2004, “both in new regulations and through developing the skill to work with these new kinds of vehicles. I want to praise the office’s placement of technical staff out in the field, where they can closely observe development and test activities of industry.”

Greason testified along with four other witnesses: Dr. George Nield, FAA Associate Administrator for Commercial Space Transportation; Dr. Gerald Dillingham, Director of Physical Infrastructure Issues at the U.S. Government Accountability Office; J.P. Stevens, Vice President for Space Systems at the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA); and James Testwuide, Chairman of the Great Lakes Aerospace Science and Education Center at Spaceport Sheboygan.

The panelists took questions from members of Congress including Subcommittee Chair Rep. Jerry Costello (D-IL) and Subcommittee Ranking Member Rep. Thomas Petri (R-WI).

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Washington, D.C. – Bretton Alexander, President of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, testified this morning before the Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee of the House Science Committee on the topic of commercial spaceflight safety. Alexander, who also chairs the Commercial Space Committee of the NASA Advisory Council, said in his opening statement that, “Safety is paramount [...]

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Washington, D.C. – Bretton Alexander, President of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, testified this morning before the Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee of the House Science Committee on the topic of commercial spaceflight safety. Alexander, who also chairs the Commercial Space Committee of the NASA Advisory Council, said in his opening statement that, “Safety is paramount to everyone in this industry. … We firmly believe that NASA and commercial industry can and must work together to develop safer human spaceflight capabilities.”

Alexander added, “Commercial crew systems will only begin crewed flights once reliability has been demonstrated through multiple successful test flights without crew. Demonstrated launch reliability is essential for overall safety. The Atlas family, for example, has had over 90 consecutive successes. The Atlas V has a perfect record of 19 successful launches. And the Falcon 9 will have been launched more than a dozen times for cargo and satellite missions before crew missions begin.”

Alexander thanked the Subcommittee and the full Committee for their support of commercial spaceflight, and noted that letting the commercial sector handle the less difficult task of Space Station servicing will enable NASA to focus its resources and expertise on exploration beyond Low Earth Orbit.

Discussing government oversight, Alexander explained, “While the FAA would retain overall licensing authority, NASA would maintain oversight as the customer. In particular, NASA would establish astronaut safety requirements in consultation with industry; establish mission-unique requirements, such as crew capacity and requirements for Space Station docking; and most importantly, have final approval authority over the launch of NASA astronauts.”

Alexander testified along with five other witnesses: Bryan O’Connor, Chief of Safety and Mission Assurance at NASA; Jeff Hanley, Constellation Program Manager at NASA; John Marshall, Council Member of the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel; Joseph Fragola, Vice President at Valador Inc; and Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Thomas Stafford.

The panelists took questions from members of Congress including Subcommittee Chair Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ), Committee Ranking Member Rep. Ralph Hall (R-TX), and Subcommittee Ranking Member Rep. Pete Olson (R-TX).

About the Commercial Spaceflight Federation
The mission of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation (CSF) is to promote the development of commercial human spaceflight, pursue ever higher levels of safety, and share best practices and expertise throughout the industry. CSF member organizations include commercial spaceflight developers, operators, and spaceports. The Commercial Spaceflight Federation is governed by a board of directors, composed of the member companies’ CEO-level officers and entrepreneurs. For more information please visit www.commercialspaceflight.org or contact Executive Director John Gedmark at john@commercialspaceflight.org or at 202.349.1121.

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Washington, D.C. – The Commercial Spaceflight Federation is pleased to announce the creation and initial membership of the Spaceports Council, composed of spaceports worldwide who seek to cooperate on issues of common interest such as airspace access, legal and regulatory frameworks, infrastructure, international policy migration, liability, and voluntary common operating standards.
The Spaceports Council, [...]

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Washington, D.C. – The Commercial Spaceflight Federation is pleased to announce the creation and initial membership of the Spaceports Council, composed of spaceports worldwide who seek to cooperate on issues of common interest such as airspace access, legal and regulatory frameworks, infrastructure, international policy migration, liability, and voluntary common operating standards.

The Spaceports Council, which will operate under the aegis of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation (CSF), was officially created following the conclusion of the second CSF Spaceports Executive Summit held on October 20, 2009 in Las Cruces, New Mexico to coincide with the International Symposium for Personal and Commercial Spaceflight. This summit built on the success of an earlier CSF spaceports summit held on May 27, 2009, hosted by Space Florida as part of the International Space Development Conference in Orlando, Florida.

Initial member spaceports and spaceport principals of the CSF Spaceports Council include:
• Spaceport America, represented by Executive Director Steve Landeene (Chairman)
• Aeroports de Catalunya, represented by Executive Director Jordi Candela
• Cecil Field Spaceport, represented by Administrator of Planning and Development Todd Lindner
• Mojave Air and Space Port, represented by General Manager Stuart Witt
• Oklahoma Spaceport, represented by Executive Director Bill Khourie
• Space Florida, represented by President Frank DiBello
• Spaceport Indiana, represented by President Brian Tanner
• Spaceport Scotland, represented by Chairman Howie Firth
• Spaceport Sweden, represented by Vice President Bengt Jaegtnes
• Wisconsin Aerospace Authority, represented by Chairman Tom Crabb

Steve Landeene, Executive Director of Spaceport America, has been selected as the first chair of the CSF Spaceports Council. Landeene stated, “I am deeply honored and humbled to take up the first chairmanship of the Spaceports Council. Collecting and sharing the knowledge and experience base of spaceports worldwide will be beneficial to us all as commercial space vehicles begin to push the envelope toward more and more flights. And when working with policymakers, spaceports will benefit by formulating and presenting common positions.”

The Spaceports Council will convene regular meetings of spaceports principals, as well as coordinate additional cooperation between spaceports on the staff level, in order to address common problems affecting spaceports, work toward voluntary uniform standards for development of common use equipment and operational procedures, and advise vehicle operators, developers, and other members of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, on issues of concern to the spaceport community.

Bretton Alexander, President of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, stated, “The formation of the Spaceports Council marks another milestone in the growth of the commercial spaceflight industry. By deepening the cooperation among both domestic and international spaceports in this new industry, we can help ensure that the industry continues to grow and flourish. Congratulations to Steve Landeene on his selection as the first chairman of this group, as well as all the spaceports that have chosen to form the initial membership of the Council.”

Stuart O. Witt, General Manager of Mojave Air and Space Port and an Officer of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, added, “We are excited to welcome this great group of spaceports, both domestic and international, as we join together to share our lessons learned. As we look toward a new generation of suborbital and orbital launch vehicles, I know that a strong spaceport network, armed with the latest in operational ‘lessons learned,’ will be critical.”

About the Commercial Spaceflight Federation
The mission of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation (CSF) is to promote the development of commercial human spaceflight, pursue ever higher levels of safety, and share best practices and expertise throughout the industry. CSF member organizations include commercial spaceflight developers, operators, and spaceports. The Commercial Spaceflight Federation is governed by a board of directors, composed of the member companies’ CEO-level officers and entrepreneurs. For more information please visit www.commercialspaceflight.org or contact Executive Director
John Gedmark at john@commercialspaceflight.org or at 202.349.1121.

About the CSF Spaceports Council
The Spaceports Council, which operates under the aegis of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation (CSF), is composed of spaceports worldwide who discuss and collaborate on issues of common interest, such as access, legal and regulatory frameworks, infrastructure, international policy migration, liability, voluntary common operating standards, and engagement with other spaceport stakeholders including vehicle developers and operators, other spaceport users, and government agencies. For more information please contact CSF Executive Director John Gedmark at john@commercialspaceflight.org or at 202.349.1121.

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Former NASA astronaut Samuel T. Durrance, a PhD astronomer and veteran of two Space Shuttle missions, has been selected as the latest addition to the Commercial Spaceflight Federation’s Suborbital Applications Researchers Group (SARG).
“We are very happy to have Sam aboard SARG to contribute his expertise as a two-time NASA payload specialist on the [...]

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Former NASA astronaut Samuel T. Durrance, a PhD astronomer and veteran of two Space Shuttle missions, has been selected as the latest addition to the Commercial Spaceflight Federation’s Suborbital Applications Researchers Group (SARG).

“We are very happy to have Sam aboard SARG to contribute his expertise as a two-time NASA payload specialist on the Space Shuttle,” said Dr. S. Alan Stern, Chairman of SARG and a space scientist who previously served as head of the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters. “Sam also broadens our educator and astronomy experience base, and we are looking forward to his many contributions to the growth of the suborbital research and education markets.”

Including Dr. Durrance, SARG now consists of eleven researchers and educators, in disciplines ranging from microgravity physics to life sciences, who are aiming to increase awareness of commercial suborbital spacecraft in the science and R&D communities, work with policymakers to ensure that payloads can have easy access to these vehicles, and further develop ideas for the uses of vehicles under development by Armadillo Aerospace, Blue Origin, Masten Space Systems, Virgin Galactic, and XCOR Aerospace.

Dr. Durrance stated, “I am very excited to be joining the other scientists in SARG. I think the astronomy community will be astonished by the capabilities of this new generation of commercial suborbital vehicles. And having journeyed into space alongside a telescope I helped develop on the ground, I am excited about the human-in-the-loop capabilities of these new vehicles.”

After receiving his PhD degree in astro-geophysics from the University of Colorado in 1980, Sam Durrance served as a Principal Research Scientist at Johns Hopkins University and was a co-investigator for the Hopkins Ultraviolet Telescope, one of the instruments for the Astro Observatory. As a NASA payload specialist, Sam Durrance traveled into space aboard the STS-35/Astro-1 and STS-67/Astro-2 missions. Complementing his astronomy training and astronaut flight experience, Dr. Durrance also has experience with sounding rockets and was a former director of the Florida Space Grant Consortium. He currently works as a professor of physics and space sciences at Florida Tech.

In addition to Dr. Durrance and Dr. Stern, the other members of SARG are Dr. Steven Collicott (Purdue University), Dr. Joshua Colwell (University of Central Florida), Dr. Daniel Durda (Southwest Research Institute), Dr. David Grinspoon (Denver Museum of Natural Sciences), Dr. Richard Miles (Princeton University), Dr. John Pojman (Louisiana State University), Dr. Mark Shelhamer (Johns Hopkins University), Dr. Mike Summers (George Mason University), and Dr. Erika Wagner (Massachusetts Institute of Technology).

About the Suborbital Applications Researchers Group
The Suborbital Applications Researchers Group (SARG) is a coordination and advisory committee of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, composed of scientists and researchers dedicated to furthering the scientific potential of suborbital reusable launch vehicles under development by the commercial spaceflight sector. SARG seeks to increase awareness of commercial suborbital vehicles in the science, R&D, and education communities, engage with policymakers to ensure that payloads can have easy access to these vehicles, and generate new ideas for uses of these vehicles for science, engineering, and education missions. SARG is taking a leadership role in the February 2010 Next-Generation Suborbital Researchers Conference (NSRC). For more information please contact Dr. Alan Stern at astern@boulder.swri.edu or at 303.324.5269.

About the Commercial Spaceflight Federation
The mission of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation (CSF) is to promote the development of commercial human spaceflight, pursue ever higher levels of safety, and share best practices and expertise throughout the industry. Commercial Spaceflight Federation member organizations include commercial spaceflight developers, operators, and spaceports. The Commercial Spaceflight Federation is governed by a board of directors, composed of the member companies’ CEO-level officers and entrepreneurs. For more information please contact Executive Director John Gedmark at 202.349.1121 or visit www.commercialspaceflight.org.

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Total investment in the commercial human spaceflight sector has risen by 20% since January 2008, reaching a cumulative total of $1.46 billion, according to a new extensive study performed by the Tauri Group and commissioned by the Commercial Spaceflight Federation. Revenues and deposits for commercial human spaceflight services, hardware, and support services has also [...]

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Total investment in the commercial human spaceflight sector has risen by 20% since January 2008, reaching a cumulative total of $1.46 billion, according to a new extensive study performed by the Tauri Group and commissioned by the Commercial Spaceflight Federation. Revenues and deposits for commercial human spaceflight services, hardware, and support services has also grown, reaching a total of $261 million for the year 2008.

The analytic study, performed by the Tauri Group of Alexandria, Virginia, was based on aggregated data from a comprehensive survey of 22 companies engaged in commercial human spaceflight activities, including most Commercial Spaceflight Federation members. The new Tauri Group study results, which updates a study conducted a year earlier, can be downloaded here [pdf]. Key findings include:

* Deposits and revenue for direct commercial human spaceflight services, such as flights of private citizens to the International Space Station and deposits on suborbital commercial human spaceflights, rose to $50.0M in 2008, compared to $38.8M in 2007 and $28.8M in 2006.

* Investment of $1.46 billion has been committed to the industry since January 2008, of which approximately $624 million has been spent to date and about $838 million is available. Sources of investment include individuals and angel investors (about 52%), private equity (about 30%), government (about 15%), and corporate reinvestment (about 4%).

* Revenue for commercial spaceflight hardware sales, development, and support services, increased to $211M in 2008, compared to $206M in 2007 and $123M in 2006. (This category includes sales of hardware and services directly intended for commercial human spaceflight; sales of commercial human spaceflight-related products and services to customers in other industry sectors; and sales and services that develop technologies and corporate capabilities that can be leveraged for commercial human spaceflight applications.)

* Total facility space expanded to 1,180,000 square feet (over 20 football fields) in 2008, compared to 762,100 square feet in 2007.

* The commercial human spaceflight industry reached an employment level of 1,186 workers in 2008, not including employees at these 22 companies who are engaged in activities unrelated to commercial human spaceflight.

Commercial Spaceflight Federation President Bretton Alexander commented, “This survey reveals modest, but increasing, revenues from commercial spaceflight activities, including growing deposits and contracts for government development activities. But the real highlight is the sizable investment that is not government related. Growing investment from private equity funds and other investors has turned longtime skeptics into people who are taking notice.”

Since the survey was primarily a rearward look at activities in the year 2008, several companies such as Orbital Sciences, United Launch Alliance (a Boeing-Lockheed joint venture), and other firms, which have made recent public expressions of interest in commercial human spaceflight, were not part of the tabulations above.

The full Tauri Group study results can be downloaded here [pdf].

Image credit (showing the investment deal recently concluded between Aabar Investments and Virgin Galactic): Virgin Galactic / Mark Greenberg

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Washington, D.C. – The Commercial Spaceflight Federation congratulates Masten Space Systems of Mojave, California, and Armadillo Aerospace, of Rockwall, Texas, for their success in NASA’s $2 million Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge. The prize money was awarded by NASA Administrator Charles Bolden in ceremony yesterday in Washington, DC. The two winning companies qualified [...]

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Washington, D.C. – The Commercial Spaceflight Federation congratulates Masten Space Systems of Mojave, California, and Armadillo Aerospace, of Rockwall, Texas, for their success in NASA’s $2 million Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge. The prize money was awarded by NASA Administrator Charles Bolden in ceremony yesterday in Washington, DC. The two winning companies qualified for the prize, which is managed by the X PRIZE Foundation, by building and flying vertical-takeoff-and-landing vehicles that hovered for up to 180 seconds, translated horizontally, landed under rocket power, and repeated the feat in two hours.

“We commend Masten Space Systems and Armadillo Aerospace for their tremendous success in NASA’s Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge,” said Bretton Alexander, President of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation. “High flight rates and quick turnaround are exciting features of this new era of commercial spaceflight, and we look forward to seeing these vehicles climb to higher and higher altitudes in the months ahead.”

Distinguished speakers in yesterday’s Capitol Hill prize ceremony in Washington, DC, included:
• Charles Bolden, NASA Administrator;
• Thomas Kalil, Deputy Director for Policy at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP);
• Dr. Peter Diamandis, X PRIZE Foundation Chairman;
• Dr. George Nield, Associate Administrator of the FAA’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation;
• Representative Ralph Hall (R-Texas), Ranking Member of the House Science Committee;
• Representative Adam Schiff (D-California), Member of the House CJS Appropriations Subcommittee;
• Mitch Waldman, Vice President for Business Development at Northrop Grumman;
• Doug Comstock, NASA Innovative Partnerships Program Director.

Additional guests at the event included Representative Parker Griffith (D-Alabama), Member of the House Space Subcommittee; Lori Garver, NASA Deputy Administrator; and George Whitesides, NASA Chief of Staff.

David Masten, CEO of Masten Space Systems, stated, “We’d been building our vehicles before the prize started, but the NASA prize was a great incentive along the path towards the market for flying low-cost science and educational payloads. Now we are going beyond the prize and will be flying higher and faster in the coming months. High-altitude flights of aerospace R&D payloads, science experiments, and educational payloads are planned for 2010.”

Phil Eaton, VP of Operations at Armadillo Aerospace, stated, “We see more than a prize – we see the growth of the commercial space industry.”

Bretton Alexander added, “The diverse range of speakers at the prize ceremony, from NASA and FAA to Congress, signals the level of support and encouragement that the commercial spaceflight industry is receiving from policymakers in Washington DC. This week’s ceremony represents another exciting milestone for an industry that has made tremendous strides in the last few years.”

In order to meet the requirements of the Lunar Lander Challenge, the Masten and Armadillo vehicles had to ascend to a height of 50 meters, translate horizontally to a landing pad 50 meters away, land safely on another pad after 90 seconds of flight time (for Level 1), or 180 seconds of flight time (for Level 2), and then repeat the flight. $350,000 was awarded last year to Armadillo Aerospace, and at this year’s prize ceremony a total of $1,650,000 was awarded to Masten Space Systems and Armadillo Aerospace for successfully completed flights.

About the Commercial Spaceflight Federation
The mission of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation (CSF) is to promote the development of commercial human spaceflight, pursue ever higher levels of safety, and share best practices and expertise throughout the industry. CSF member organizations include commercial spaceflight developers, operators, and spaceports. The Commercial Spaceflight Federation is governed by a board of directors, composed of the member companies’ CEO-level officers and entrepreneurs. For more information please visit www.commercialspaceflight.org or contact Executive Director John Gedmark at john@commercialspaceflight.org or at 202.349.1121.

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In a ceremony this Thursday on Capitol Hill, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden will award $1.65 million in prizes to two commercial spaceflight companies, Masten Space Systems and Armadillo Aerospace, for completing successful flights in the NASA-funded Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge managed by the X PRIZE Foundation.
Time: Doors open 11:45 am and ceremony begins at [...]

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In a ceremony this Thursday on Capitol Hill, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden will award $1.65 million in prizes to two commercial spaceflight companies, Masten Space Systems and Armadillo Aerospace, for completing successful flights in the NASA-funded Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge managed by the X PRIZE Foundation.

Time: Doors open 11:45 am and ceremony begins at noon, Thursday November 5th.

Place: Rayburn House Office Building, Room 2325. Open to the public.

Speakers include: NASA Administrator, Charles Bolden; NASA Innovative Partnerships Director, Doug Comstock; OSTP Deputy Director for Policy, Tom Kalil; X PRIZE Foundation CEO, Peter Diamandis; Rep. Ralph Hall, ranking member of the House Science Committee; Rep. Adam Schiff, House CJS Appropriations Subcommittee; and the winning teams.

The NASA-funded Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge (NGLLC) is a $2,000,000 incentive prize program designed to build an industry of American companies capable of routinely and safely flying vertical-takeoff-and-landing rocket vehicles useful both for lunar exploration and for other applications. $350,000 was awarded last year to Armadillo Aerospace, and this year $1,650,000 will be awarded to Masten Space Systems and Armadillo Aerospace for successfully completed flights.

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Washington, D.C. – Bretton Alexander, President of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, has been appointed by NASA Administrator Charles Bolden to the NASA Advisory Council, a federally chartered body of experts that provides advice and counsel directly to the NASA Administrator. Additionally, Alexander has been selected to chair the newly formed Commercial Space Committee of [...]

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Washington, D.C. – Bretton Alexander, President of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, has been appointed by NASA Administrator Charles Bolden to the NASA Advisory Council, a federally chartered body of experts that provides advice and counsel directly to the NASA Administrator. Additionally, Alexander has been selected to chair the newly formed Commercial Space Committee of the NASA Advisory Council.

Following his appointment, Alexander attended a meeting of the full NASA Advisory Councilon October 29 at the NASA Ames Research Center, which included discussions with NASA Administrator Bolden, Ames Center Director Dr. Pete Worden, and NASA Advisory Council Chair Dr. Kenneth Ford. According to NASA, “the NASA Advisory Council provides the NASA Administrator with counsel and advice on programs and issues of importance to the Agency… and presents any findings and recommendations to the NASA Administrator on a quarterly basis.”

Mark Sirangelo, Chairman of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, said, “We are very proud that Brett has been granted this prestigious appointment by the NASA Administrator. As a well-respected and articulate leader in the commercial spaceflight industry, Brett is a fitting individual for this role.”

Added Alexander, “It is a deep honor to be appointed by the Administrator to serve on the NASA Advisory Council. I believe the Administrator recognizes that the success of NASA’s exploration activities must involve commercial spaceflight and I look forward to chairing the Commercial Space Committee.”

Alexander joins the following other members of the newly restructured NASA Advisory Council:

• Chair: Kenneth M. Ford
• Aeronautics Committee: Marion Blakey
• Audit, Finance and Analysis Committee: Robert M. Hanisee
• Education and Public Outreach: Miles O’Brien
• Exploration Committee: Gen. Lester L. Lyles
• Science Committee: Wesley T. Huntress, Jr.
• Space Operations Committee: Col. Eileen M. Collins
• Technology and Innovation Committee: Esther Dyson
• Ex officio members (National Academies): Raymond S. Colladay and Charles F. Kennel

Bretton Alexander holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering and a Master of Science degree in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia. In addition to his role as President of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, Alexander has previously served as Executive Director for Space at the X PRIZE Foundation, where he oversaw all aspects of the Google Lunar X Prize, the Lunar Lander Challenge, and the X PRIZE Cup, and was also Senior Advisor to Transformational Space Corporation (t/Space).

Prior to joining the entrepreneurial space community, Alexander served under presidents William J. Clinton and George W. Bush as Senior Policy Analyst for space issues. During his tenure at the White House, he was one of the primary authors of the “Vision for Space Exploration” announced by President Bush in January 2004. He has also held positions in the Federal Aviation Administration’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation, the Aerospace Corporation, and ANSER Corporation.

About the Commercial Spaceflight Federation
The mission of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation (CSF) is to promote the development of commercial human spaceflight, pursue ever higher levels of safety, and share best practices and expertise throughout the industry. CSF member organizations include commercial spaceflight developers, operators, and spaceports. The Commercial Spaceflight Federation is governed by a board of directors, composed of the member companies’ CEO-level officers and entrepreneurs. For more information please visit www.commercialspaceflight.org or contact Executive Director John Gedmark at john@commercialspaceflight.org or at 202.349.1121.

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Washington, D.C. – The Commercial Spaceflight Federation welcomes the strong support for commercial human spaceflight expressed by the White House’s Review of U.S. Human Space Flight Plans Committee, also known as the Augustine Committee, which released its final report today. The Augustine Committee endorsed the creation of a Commercial Crew program to develop commercial [...]

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Washington, D.C. – The Commercial Spaceflight Federation welcomes the strong support for commercial human spaceflight expressed by the White House’s Review of U.S. Human Space Flight Plans Committee, also known as the Augustine Committee, which released its final report today. The Augustine Committee endorsed the creation of a Commercial Crew program to develop commercial capabilities to transport crew to the International Space Station, with a baseline NASA investment of $3 billion, to include multiple competitors and human-rating of an existing reliable launch vehicle.

The report further included the following key statements in support of the commercial procurement of crew transportation services to the International Space Station in low-Earth orbit:

• The time is right: The report stated, “Commercial services to deliver crew to low-Earth orbit are within reach. … A new competition with adequate incentives should be open to all U.S. aerospace companies. This would allow NASA to focus on more challenging roles, including human exploration beyond low-Earth orbit…”

• Industry is capable: The report stated, “There is little doubt that the U.S. aerospace industry, from historical builders of human spacecraft to the new entrants, has the technical capability to build and operate a crew taxi to low-Earth orbit.”

• Commercial is safe: The report stated, “Any concepts falling short in human safety have simply been eliminated from consideration.” Later, the report added, “The Committee… would not suggest that a commercial service be provided for transportation of NASA crew if NASA could not be convinced that it was substantially safe.”

• A diverse set of competitors exist: The report stated, “During its fact-finding process, the Committee received proprietary information from five different companies interested in the provision of commercial crew transportation services to low-Earth orbit. These included large and small companies, some of which have previously developed crew systems for NASA.”

Commenting on the release of the Augustine Report, Mark Sirangelo, Chairman of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation and Chairman of Sierra Nevada Corporation Space Systems, stated, “Augustine’s detailed report could not be more clear – only by pursuing commercially procured crew transportation can the nation afford to extend the Space Station beyond 2015, even if NASA does receive extra funding. Leveraging the commercial sector will also free up NASA resources for exploration beyond Earth orbit.”

A recent industry-wide survey by the Commercial Spaceflight Federation revealed that 5,000 direct American jobs would be created by a full Commercial Crew program. Through a combination of government and private investment, companies such as United Launch Alliance, Sierra Nevada Corporation, SpaceX, and others would be able to create jobs in states including Alabama, California, Colorado, Florida, Nevada, Texas, Maryland, and Virginia.

“If a Commercial Crew program is not started now,” added Sirangelo, “America will be forced to pay Russia to launch our astronauts to orbit for years to come, at a price of $51 million per seat and rising. With so many capable American companies here at home, why should we outsource our entire human spaceflight program to Russia?”

Bretton Alexander, President of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, added, “Shortly before the Augustine report was released, over a dozen distinguished former NASA astronauts, including Buzz Aldrin, published an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal stating that commercial companies can safely handle the task of low-Earth orbit transportation. NASA already relies on the commercial sector for high-value satellite and cargo missions, and the time has come for an evolution to commercial procurement of crew services as well.”

About the Commercial Spaceflight Federation
The mission of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation (CSF) is to promote the development of commercial human spaceflight, pursue ever higher levels of safety, and share best practices and expertise throughout the industry. CSF member organizations include commercial spaceflight developers, operators, and spaceports. The Commercial Spaceflight Federation is governed by a board of directors, composed of the member companies’ CEO-level officers and entrepreneurs. For more information please visit www.commercialspaceflight.org or contact Executive Director John Gedmark at john@commercialspaceflight.org or at 202.349.1121.

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In a Washington DC speech yesterday, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden delivered a strong endorsement of commercial spaceflight, specifically highlighting NASA’s new Commercial Reusable Suborbital Research program, the importance of commercial human spaceflight, and the value of prize competitions to promote space innovation.
During his remarks to the National Association of Investment Companies, Administrator Bolden said, “NASA’s [...]

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In a Washington DC speech yesterday, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden delivered a strong endorsement of commercial spaceflight, specifically highlighting NASA’s new Commercial Reusable Suborbital Research program, the importance of commercial human spaceflight, and the value of prize competitions to promote space innovation.

During his remarks to the National Association of Investment Companies, Administrator Bolden said, “NASA’s founding legislation states that we will ‘seek and encourage, to the maximum extent possible, the fullest commercial use of space.’ … NASA must determine efficient and effective ways to leverage the power and innovation of American industry and the American entrepreneur.” Bolden then highlighted several specific NASA initiatives:

• Suborbital science: Bolden stated, “In the 1920s, the U.S. Post Office became a major customer for airmail, which created the demand that justified the private investment in many airlines. NASA is doing something similar right now. We are engaged in a new program — the Commercial Reusable Suborbital Research program — that will buy space transportation services from the emerging reusable spaceflight companies to conduct science research, technology development, with a keen focus on education.”

• Commercial human spaceflight: Bolden stated, “Some of the most exciting companies in America today go by the names of SpaceX, Blue Origin, Armadillo Aerospace, Virgin Galactic, XCOR, Bigelow Aerospace, Masten, Flag Suit, and Ad Astra…. What these companies, and others, are doing is nothing short of inspirational. Today, we at NASA are devising ways to work with these companies and others who will come.”

• Innovation prizes: Bolden stated, “You may not know it, but NASA also has the authority to fund prizes. Over this weekend, NASA just held a competition in California with $750,000 in prizes for anyone in America who could move the most “regolith” — or moon dirt — with a robot. Twenty-three teams competed. The winning team is “Paul’s Robotics”, led by a young man by the name Paul Ventimiglia. … Paul is a college student at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts. … Now that is inspiring.”

Administrator Bolden also talked about the potential for commercial human spaceflight to motivate the nation’s youth to study math, science, and engineering, stating, “What if you were a seventh grader and you knew that if you buckled down, and studied hard at math and science, that you could go to space? Not because you would be the one of the very few who might become a NASA astronaut, as I was so privileged, but because you saw hundreds of people of all nations traveling into space each and every year, and knew in your bones that you could soon be one of them?”

The full text of Bolden’s speech can be found on the NASA website at http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/395165main_Bolden_NAIC_Speech.pdf.

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Washington, D.C. – Commercial human spaceflight received a strong endorsement today by a group of thirteen former NASA astronauts who published an opinion piece titled “Commercial Spaceflight: All Systems Go” in the Wall Street Journal.
Astronauts Buzz Aldrin, Ken Bowersox, Jake Garn, Robert Gibson, Hank Hartsfield, John Herrington, John Lounge, Rick Searfoss, Norman Thagard, Kathryn Thornton, [...]

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Washington, D.C. – Commercial human spaceflight received a strong endorsement today by a group of thirteen former NASA astronauts who published an opinion piece titled “Commercial Spaceflight: All Systems Go” in the Wall Street Journal.

Astronauts Buzz Aldrin, Ken Bowersox, Jake Garn, Robert Gibson, Hank Hartsfield, John Herrington, John Lounge, Rick Searfoss, Norman Thagard, Kathryn Thornton, Jim Voss and Charles Walker stated, “We strongly agree with the Augustine Committee’s endorsement of commercial human spaceflight, and we encourage the White House and Congress to embrace this positive vision for our nation’s future in space.”

The thirteen astronauts have collectively flown a total of 42 space missions and logged a total of 2 years and 48 days in space aboard six different space vehicles including Gemini, Apollo, Space Shuttle, Soyuz, Mir, and the International Space Station. The group included the following excerpts in their op-ed:

• “We believe that the commercial sector is fully capable of safely handling the critical task of low-Earth-orbit human transportation.”
• “NASA should put its unique resources into pushing back the final frontier and not in repaving the earth-to-orbit road it cleared a half century ago.”
• “We are fully confident that the commercial spaceflight sector can provide a level of safety equal to that offered by the venerable Russian Soyuz system, which has flown safely for the last 38 years, and exceeding that of the Space Shuttle.”
• “We enthusiastically endorse this robust vision for the future of human spaceflight— a vision in which NASA is free to concentrate on the challenges of exploration beyond low Earth orbit while private commerce enables increased activity in Earth orbit.”

Following the publication of the astronaut op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, the Commercial Spaceflight Federation welcomed today’s show of support by the community of former NASA astronauts. Bretton Alexander, President of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, stated, “As the nation’s policymakers consider the future path of our space program, the commercial spaceflight sector is honored to receive today’s strong endorsement by these distinguished former NASA astronauts. We agree with these astronauts that a robust commercially procured crew capability will help enable our nation’s space program to reach new heights.”

The full text of the astronaut op-ed can be found on the Wall Street Journal website by clicking here.

About the Commercial Spaceflight Federation
The mission of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation (CSF) is to promote the development of commercial human spaceflight, pursue ever higher levels of safety, and share best practices and expertise throughout the industry. Commercial Spaceflight Federation member organizations include commercial spaceflight developers, operators, and spaceports. The Commercial Spaceflight Federation is governed by a board of directors, composed of the member companies’ CEO-level officers and entrepreneurs. For more information please contact Executive Director John Gedmark at 202.349.1121 or visit www.commercialspaceflight.org.

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Masten Space Systems successfully qualified today for a $150,000 prize in NASA’s Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge by flying a rocket-powered vehicle twice in two hours between a pair of landing pads. Masten’s vertical-takeoff-vertical-landing vehicle, known as “Xombie,” met the requirements of Level 1 of the Lunar Lander Challenge by ascending to a height [...]

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Masten Space Systems successfully qualified today for a $150,000 prize in NASA’s Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge by flying a rocket-powered vehicle twice in two hours between a pair of landing pads. Masten’s vertical-takeoff-vertical-landing vehicle, known as “Xombie,” met the requirements of Level 1 of the Lunar Lander Challenge by ascending to a height of 50 meters, translating horizontally to a landing pad 50 meters away, landing safely on a concrete pad after 90 seconds of flight time, and then repeating the flight.

The flights took place at the Mojave Air and Space Port in Mojave, California, where Masten Space Systems’ facilities are based. Today’s successful flights by Masten, along with successful flights last month by Armadillo Aerospace, mean that it is certain NASA will be giving away at least two checks worth a total of at least $1.15 million this year. Later this month, Masten is also scheduled to compete for Level 2, which requires 180 seconds of flight time rather than 90 seconds.

David Masten, CEO of Masten Space Systems, stated, “The Xombie’s flights have established Masten Space Systems as a serious competitor. This is not just good for Masten, but good news for the commercial space industry. It shows that we have grown to the point that many teams now have the skills to build and fly successful rockets.”

Brett Alexander, President of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, added, “Congratulations to Masten Space Systems, NASA, Northrop Grumman, and the X PRIZE Foundation for a job well done. The Lunar Lander Challenge is generating a tremendous return on NASA’s investment, helping to build the workforce, technologies, and vehicles useful to both NASA and the commercial spaceflight sector.”

Peter Diamandis, Chairman and CEO of the X PRIZE Foundation, which manages the prize on behalf of NASA’s Centennial Challenges program, said, “Congratulations to Dave Masten and his team on successfully completing Level-1 of the Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge. What they accomplished with 6 people is outstanding. These young entrepreneurial companies are the future Apple and Dells of the space industry, building the propulsion that will launch the public into space. They are also the industry cluster that will give NASA robust future suppliers and capability.”

Masten’s flights complement the success of the Armadillo Aerospace team, led by id Software founder John Carmack, which qualified in September for the $1 million first place prize for Level 2 of the Lunar Lander Challenge. Before the closing of this year’s competition window on October 31st, Masten Space Systems will attempt Level 2 of the competition, along with two additional competitors, Unreasonable Rocket and BonNova, who will compete for both levels.

Each level of the Lunar Lander Challenge includes both first and second place prizes, with the second place prize for Level 1 worth $150,000, and the two prizes for Level 2 worth $1 million and $500,000. In 2008, Armadillo Aerospace claimed the first prize for Level 1, worth $350,000.

Image credit: Masten/X Prize

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Five years ago on October 4, 2004, the $10 million Ansari X PRIZE for commercial spaceflight was won when SpaceShipOne completed a pair of back-to-back flights to space. With pilot Brian Binnie at the controls, the prize-winning flight of SpaceShipOne made the front pages of newspapers worldwide, and marked a key milestone in the growth [...]

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Five years ago on October 4, 2004, the $10 million Ansari X PRIZE for commercial spaceflight was won when SpaceShipOne completed a pair of back-to-back flights to space. With pilot Brian Binnie at the controls, the prize-winning flight of SpaceShipOne made the front pages of newspapers worldwide, and marked a key milestone in the growth of commercial human spaceflight. Fittingly, October 4th also marks the launch of humanity’s first satellite into orbit, which occurred in 1957, beginning the Space Age.

“Since the X PRIZE flights occurred in 2004, we’ve seen a drumbeat of steady growth in the commercial spaceflight industry: the creation of NASA’s Commercial Orbital Transportation Services program, hundreds of deposits put down for suborbital flights, the winning of NASA’s Lunar Lander Challenge prize money, over $1.2 billion of investment poured into this new industry, and now the Augustine Committee’s endorsement of commercial spaceflight,” stated John Gedmark, Executive Director of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation. “We are eagerly looking forward to many more exciting accomplishments to come.”

SpaceShipOne, which was funded by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen and developed by Burt Rutan’s company Scaled Composites, flew from the Mojave Spaceport in Mojave, California. By flying two piloted flights to 100 km within two weeks, the SpaceShipOne team successfully met the requirements to win the $10 million Ansari X PRIZE set up by the X PRIZE Foundation.

Gedmark added, “the X PRIZE flights drew thousands of spectators to the Mojave Spaceport to experience the excitement of commercial spaceflight, and the new generation of commercial vehicles coming online – both suborbital and orbital – will continue to raise the awareness of the wonders of spaceflight to the general public.”

The pilots who reached space aboard SpaceShipOne, Mike Melvill and Brian Binnie, became the world’s first commercial astronauts and were awarded astronaut wings by the Federal Aviation Administration’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation.

SpaceShipOne, now retired from service, occupies a place of honor at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC, alongside Charles Lindbergh’s Spirit of St. Louis and Chuck Yeager’s Bell X-1.

Image credit: Scaled Composites

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The importance of spaceport infrastructure was one of the clear messages from our first Spaceports Executive Summit, held at the Kennedy Space Center in May 2009. As we prepare for our second Spaceports Executive Summit on October 20, 2009 (to be held in conjunction with the International Symposium for Personal & Commercial Spaceflight in [...]

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The importance of spaceport infrastructure was one of the clear messages from our first Spaceports Executive Summit, held at the Kennedy Space Center in May 2009. As we prepare for our second Spaceports Executive Summit on October 20, 2009 (to be held in conjunction with the International Symposium for Personal & Commercial Spaceflight in Las Cruces, New Mexico), we wanted to share some information about the STIM-Grants Program, an important initiative for upgrading spaceport infrastructure.

Unlike airports, commercial spaceports currently have no opportunity to apply for federal matching dollars for infrastructure to support operations and protect public safety. In the 1993 NASA Authorization Act (Public Law No. 102-588), Congress authorized a new program to support commercial space transportation facilities, but no funding has been appropriated to date.

Under the Space Transportation Infrastructure Matching Grants Program (also known as STIM-Grants), existing and proposed spaceports in California, Florida, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Virginia / Maryland, Alaska, Wisconsin, Indiana, and other states, will be eligible for competitively-awarded grants.

To build infrastructure for a vital national capability and develop a source of high-tech, high-wage jobs, funding support for STIM-Grants is crucial, and we will be sure to keep you updated on the status of this important program.

To learn more about the STIM-Grants Program, please click here.

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Our scientific advisory committee, the Suborbital Applications Researchers Group (SARG), brings together scientists and engineers from a variety of scientific disciplines. Today, we kick off the first of a series of occasional columns in which we’ve invited SARG scientists to discuss the research potential of next-generation commercial suborbital vehicles for their particular scientific disciplines.
Our first [...]

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Our scientific advisory committee, the Suborbital Applications Researchers Group (SARG), brings together scientists and engineers from a variety of scientific disciplines. Today, we kick off the first of a series of occasional columns in which we’ve invited SARG scientists to discuss the research potential of next-generation commercial suborbital vehicles for their particular scientific disciplines.

Our first columnist is Dr. John Pojman, a Professor in the Department of Chemistry at Louisiana State University, who has led microgravity experiments using parabolic aircraft, a sounding rocket, and the International Space Station. Below, Dr. Pojman offers some thoughts on how microgravity experiments aboard commercial suborbital spacecraft will contribute to his research discipline:

Dr. Pojman: “There are many problems involving chemistry that can only be studied in the type of weightlessness afforded by suborbital flights, or as we like to say, “There is no way on Earth to do the experiment!”. Why should gravity be an issue for any chemical process? Gravity does not affect the fundamental atomic and molecular interactions, but it can drastically alter the macroscopic transport of heat and matter through convection, or fluid motion.

“A clear example of the role of gravity is in combustion. Hot air rises but not in weightlessness. Combustion processes occur very differently in weightlessness. Suborbital flights can allow testing how something will burn on a spacecraft in weightlessness. Suborbital flights can also be used to study the fundamental nature of some combustion processes without the interferences of gravity-induced convection. Figure 1 shows a candle burning under 1 g; Figure 2 shows the same candle burning in weightlessness.

Figure 1 (left). A candle burning in 1 g.
Figure 2 (right). The same candle burning in weightlessness.

“A process that is dramatically affected by gravity is frontal polymerization in which a localized reaction zone propagates from the coupling of thermal diffusion and the Arrhenius-dependence of the reaction rate of an exothermic polymerization. The reaction spreads like a flame but through a liquid monomer converting that liquid to a solid polymer or liquid polymer, depending on the type of monomer.

“Extremely complicated behavior can be observed if the reaction also produces gas (from the decomposition of the initiator used for the reacation). Buoyancy cause bubbles to rise but polymer to sink. Parabolic flights with frontal polymerization on NASA’s KC-135 revealed interesting effects of gravity. Figure 3 below shows a front propagating down (the image rotated to allow reading the information) under 1.5 g. Figure 4, further down, shows the same front in weightlessness. Interesting bubble patterns emerged but given the short duration of weightlessness (only 20 seconds) it was difficult to glean much quantitative results. Suborbital flights would allow studying such a system in greater detail.

Figure 3 (top right). Frontal polymerization of hexyl acrylate under 1.4 g on the KC-135 aircraft. The front is descending in the direction of the acceleration vector, which is to the right in the image.

Figure 4 (bottom right). Frontal polymerization of hexyl acrylate under approximately 0.01 g on the KC-135. Notice the unusual bubble patterns.

“Gravity is also very important for systems with different phases that can sediment, as in colloids, emulsions and blends. Performing experiments with such systems on suborbital flights can be a method to prepare “benchmark materials” that can serve as a goal for ground-based processing to achieve.

“Overall, suborbital flights can allow chemists the chance to determine how important gravity is to a process and thus to learn about aspects of a chemical system that would be complicated by buoyancy-driven convection on earth.”

For more information about SARG member Dr. John Pojman and his microgravity chemistry research, please see www.pojman.com, and stay tuned for future columns from other SARG scientists. For information about the upcoming Next-Gen Suborbital Researchers Conference, please click here.

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Washington, DC – The Commercial Spaceflight Federation is pleased to announce its co-sponsorship of the Next-Generation Suborbital Researchers Conference (NSRC), which is being organized in conjunction with the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) and the Universities Space Research Association (USRA).
This conference, to be held in Boulder, Colorado during February 18-20, 2010, will allow scientists, engineers, and [...]

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Washington, DC – The Commercial Spaceflight Federation is pleased to announce its co-sponsorship of the Next-Generation Suborbital Researchers Conference (NSRC), which is being organized in conjunction with the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) and the Universities Space Research Association (USRA).

This conference, to be held in Boulder, Colorado during February 18-20, 2010, will allow scientists, engineers, and educators to learn about the research and education capabilities of commercial suborbital spacecraft and to foster a two-way conversation between the research community and the commercial spaceflight industry.

The Next-Generation Suborbital Researchers Conference (NSRC) will include a strong leadership role by researchers and educators from the Suborbital Applications Researchers Group (SARG), a scientific advisory committee that was recently formed under the aegis of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation.

“NSRC represents the first broadly based meeting to highlight the benefits of the coming era of routine suborbital space travel for research and education,” said NSRC organizer and SARG chair Dr. S. Alan Stern of the Southwest Research Institute, who previously served as head of the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters. “The dramatically lower cost and dramatically higher flight rates of the human-rated and robotic suborbital vehicles now emerging from design to factory floor and flight will transform spaceflight from the rare to the routine. The additional fact that space researchers and educators will be able to fly with the gear in the same way that oceanographers descend to depth in submersibles and geophysicists ascend mountaintops and explore Antarctica, makes the coming suborbital era even more exciting. NSRC is an opportunity for researchers and educators across engineering and the spectrum of space and Earth science fields to exchange ideas and make concrete plans for early research missions, some beginning as soon as 2011.”

“The potential of next-generation suborbital vehicles to contribute to science is very exciting,” stated Dr. Frederick A. Tarantino, President of the Universities Space Research Association (USRA) and another NSRC organizer. “Suborbital programs are essential for conducting needed investigations of the mesosphere, thermosphere and ionosphere. They can also provide extended microgravity durations beyond that achievable with parabolic flights and can offer excellent precursor experiments for science on the International Space Station.”

Bretton Alexander, President of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, added, “I share the enthusiasm displayed by the scientists in our new Suborbital Applications Researchers Group for the great research potential of next-generation suborbital vehicles. The commercial spaceflight sector is excited to work with government, academia, and industry to start putting payloads on next-generation suborbital vehicles.”

The Next-Generation Suborbital Researchers Conference will include research tracks dedicated to the various disciplines that will potentially benefit from next-generation suborbital vehicles, such as atmospheric science, solar physics, microgravity science, planetary science, space life science, space physics, and also tracks for education and public outreach (EPO)—a major applications area for next-gen suborbital missions.

The abstract deadline for the conference will be November 12, 2009. To subscribe to a mailing list to receive e-mail updates about the conference, please submit the Indication of Intent Form found at http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/nsrc2010/iofi/ by October 14, 2009. For additional information on the meeting, visit http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/nsrc2010/.

About the Commercial Spaceflight Federation
The mission of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation (CSF) is to promote the development of commercial human spaceflight, pursue ever higher levels of safety, and share best practices and expertise throughout the industry. Commercial Spaceflight Federation member organizations include commercial spaceflight developers, operators, and spaceports. The Commercial Spaceflight Federation is governed by a board of directors, composed of the member companies’ CEO-level officers and entrepreneurs. For more information please contact Executive Director John Gedmark at 202.349.1121 or visit www.commercialspaceflight.org.

About the Suborbital Applications Researchers Group
The Suborbital Applications Researchers Group (SARG) is a coordination and advisory committee of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, composed of scientists and researchers dedicated to furthering the scientific potential of suborbital reusable launch vehicles under development by the commercial spaceflight sector. SARG seeks to increase awareness of commercial suborbital vehicles in the science, R&D, and education communities, work with policymakers to ensure that payloads can have easy access to these vehicles, and aim to generate new ideas for uses of these vehicles for science, engineering, and education missions. SARG is taking a leadership role in the February 2010 Next-Generation Suborbital Researchers Conference (NSRC). For more information please contact Dr. Alan Stern at astern@boulder.swri.edu or at 303.324.5269.

A pdf version of this press release can be downloaded here [pdf].

Image credit: XCOR, Armadillo Aerospace, Masten Space Systems, Virgin Galactic

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Washington, DC – An industry survey has revealed that over 5,000 direct jobs, including 1,700 jobs in Florida, would be created over the next five years if the $2.5 billion Commercial Crew Program proposed by the White House Review of U.S. Human Space Flight Plans Committee (also known as the Augustine Committee) moves forward. [...]

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Washington, DC – An industry survey has revealed that over 5,000 direct jobs, including 1,700 jobs in Florida, would be created over the next five years if the $2.5 billion Commercial Crew Program proposed by the White House Review of U.S. Human Space Flight Plans Committee (also known as the Augustine Committee) moves forward. A Commercial Crew program would support full utilization of the Space Station, reduce U.S. reliance on Russia to launch American astronauts, and allow NASA to focus its resources on exploration beyond low-Earth-orbit (LEO).

The industry survey tallied direct jobs created by a combination of government and private investment, and concluded the program would primarily result in high-tech jobs in engineering and manufacturing in areas such as vehicle design, hardware manufacturing, launch vehicle integration, launch operations, and infrastructure development. In particular, the survey showed that a Commercial Crew Program would create 1,700 jobs in Florida, one of the areas impacted by the retirement of the Space Shuttle fleet.

The industry survey included companies, such as United Launch Alliance (a joint venture of Boeing and Lockheed Martin), Sierra Nevada Corporation, SpaceX, and others, that have all built space hardware and are potential participants in a competitive Commercial Crew Program, which would feature multiple winners including both smaller and larger aerospace companies. Based on the current location of commercial spaceflight facilities, states where jobs would likely be created include Alabama, California, Colorado, Florida, Nevada, Texas, and Virginia.

Mark Sirangelo, Chairman of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, added, “The alternative to creating jobs with a Commercial Crew Program is to simply send funds to Russia to support jobs there instead. NASA is already purchasing seats on Russian Soyuz vehicles, at the price of $51 million per seat, to send our astronauts to the Space Station after the Space Shuttle retires in 2011. Without the domestic competitive pressure of a Commercial Crew program, Russia would be free to continue increasing the per-seat prices that it charges the United States.”

Bretton Alexander, President of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, stated, “In addition to the projected 5,000 direct jobs, Commercial Crew will also create thousands of indirect and induced jobs, including those from local businesses due to the presence of the Commercial Crew engineers and technicians in their communities. We also expect an increase in the number of jobs in the construction and processing of space payloads, and commercial providers will be able to leverage additional markets to create jobs above and beyond those directly tied to NASA missions. Further, since about 20,000 people travel to Florida’s Space Coast for every Shuttle launch, a thriving Commercial Crew industry would also reduce impacts to local tourism from the retirement of the space shuttle. Commercial Crew will clearly be a strong engine for economic growth.”

About the Commercial Spaceflight Federation
The mission of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation (CSF) is to promote the development of commercial human spaceflight, pursue ever higher levels of safety, and share best practices and expertise throughout the industry. Commercial Spaceflight Federation member organizations include commercial spaceflight developers, operators, and spaceports. The Commercial Spaceflight Federation is governed by a board of directors, composed of the member companies’ CEO-level officers and entrepreneurs. For more information please contact Executive Director John Gedmark at 202.349.1121 or visit www.commercialspaceflight.org.
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A pdf version of this press release can be downloaded here [pdf].

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Armadillo Aerospace, led by id Software founder John Carmack, successfully flew its Scorpius vehicle twice in two hours between a pair of landing pads to qualify for the $1 million top prize in NASA’s Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge. The milestone event paves the way for higher-altitude flights by the Armadillo Aerospace team, and [...]

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Armadillo Aerospace, led by id Software founder John Carmack, successfully flew its Scorpius vehicle twice in two hours between a pair of landing pads to qualify for the $1 million top prize in NASA’s Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge. The milestone event paves the way for higher-altitude flights by the Armadillo Aerospace team, and demonstrated the value of prizes to stimulate innovation. Other entrants in the competition will have the opportunity over the next several weeks to accomplish the same feat, but the successful flights mean it is certain NASA will be giving away a $1 million check before year’s end.

In order to meet the requirements of Level 2 of the Lunar Lander Challenge, the Scorpius vehicle had to ascend to a height of 50 meters, translate horizontally to a landing pad 50 meters away, land safely on a rocky lunar-replica surface after at least 180 seconds of flight time, and then repeat the flight. The flights of Scorpius, which weighs about 1900 pounds fully fueled, took place September 12th at the Caddo Mills Airport in Texas, where Armadillo Aerospace’s facilities are based.

John Carmack, head of Armadillo Aerospace, stated, “Since the Lunar Lander Challenge is quite demanding in terms of performance, with a few tweaks our Scorpius vehicle actually has the capability to travel all the way to space. We’ll be moving quickly to do higher-altitude tests, and we can go up to about 6000 ft. here at our home base in Texas before we’ll have to head to New Mexico where we can really push the envelope. We already have scientific payloads from universities lined up to fly as well, so this will be an exciting next few months for commercial spaceflight.”

Peter Diamandis, Chairman and CEO of the X PRIZE Foundation, which manages the prize on behalf of NASA’s Centennial Challenges program, said, “Carmack and the entire Armadillo team made it look easy… an overnight success after 4 years of hard work. Congratulations on two perfect flights. Now we’ll need to see if any other teams attempt the Level-2, Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge. If no one does, then Armadillo will win $1 million in purse cash. I’m hopeful that this success will allow policymakers to see the power and success of NASA’s Centennial Challenges program.”

Brett Alexander, President of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, added, “Congratulations to Armadillo Aerospace, NASA, and the X PRIZE Foundation for their excellent teamwork in making this week’s Lunar Lander Challenge milestone possible. This competition shows exactly how much NASA can benefit from close engagement with the commercial spaceflight sector.”

Yesterday’s event builds on the earlier success of the Armadillo Aerospace team in 2008, when they claimed the $350,000 first place prize for Level 1 of the Lunar Lander Challenge (which differs from Level 2 in requiring 90 seconds of flight time rather than 180 seconds).

Two additional competitors for the prize, Masten Space Systems and Unreasonable Rocket are scheduled to make prize attempts before the closing of this year’s competition window on October 31st. These teams are scheduled to compete for both the Level 1 and Level 2 phases of the competition. Each level includes both first and second place prizes, with the second place prize for Level 1 worth $150,000, and the two prizes for Level 2 worth $1 million and $500,000.

Image credit: William Pomerantz/X PRIZE Foundation

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Washington, D.C. — Following the public release of the Summary Report of the White House’s Review of U.S. Human Space Flight Plan Committee, the Commercial Spaceflight Federation and Next Step in Space Coalition are jointly releasing the following announcement:
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Commercial Spaceflight Federation, Next Step in Space Coalition Welcome White House Committee’s Support for Commercial Human Spaceflight [...]

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Washington, D.C. — Following the public release of the Summary Report of the White House’s Review of U.S. Human Space Flight Plan Committee, the Commercial Spaceflight Federation and Next Step in Space Coalition are jointly releasing the following announcement:

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Commercial Spaceflight Federation, Next Step in Space Coalition Welcome White House Committee’s Support for Commercial Human Spaceflight

Review of U.S. Human Space Flight Plans Committee’s Summary Report Finds Commercial Procurement of Human Space Transportation Will Cut Costs, Reduce Spaceflight Gap

WASHINGTON, D.C. – September 9, 2009 – The Commercial Spaceflight Federation and the Next Step in Space Coalition welcome the strong support of commercial spaceflight expressed by the White House’s Review of U.S. Human Space Flight Plans Committee, also known as the Augustine Committee for its Chairman, former aerospace industry executive Norm Augustine.

The Augustine Committee, in the “Key Findings” section of its summary report released yesterday, stated, “commercial services to deliver crew to low-Earth orbit are within reach… [and] could provide an earlier capability at lower initial and lifecycle costs than government could achieve. A new competition with adequate incentives should be open to all U.S. aerospace companies. This would allow NASA to focus on more challenging roles, including human exploration beyond low-Earth orbit.”

Bretton Alexander, president of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, stated, “A full Commercial Crew program would leverage private investment to create thousands of jobs in states including Florida, Nevada, Colorado, Virginia, Texas, California, and Alabama. Both large and medium-sized companies have expressed interest in participating, including United Launch Alliance with 4000 employees, Sierra Nevada Corporation with 1600 employees, and SpaceX with 800 employees, all companies that have built and flown space hardware in orbit.”

Elon Musk, CEO and CTO of SpaceX, stated, “The Augustine Committee is sending an unambiguous message that commercial human space transportation is an important ingredient in future U.S. human space exploration plans. The Committee recognizes that in addition to the cost savings and reducing the gap in U.S. spaceflight capability that supporting U.S. commercial human space transportation will promote competition and create critical high tech jobs at home.”

Mark Sirangelo, Chairman of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation and Chairman of Sierra Nevada Space Systems, added, “Commercial Crew will fill an urgent need. Currently, when the Space Shuttle retires in 2011, the U.S. will purchase seats on Russian Soyuz vehicles to send our astronauts to the $100 billion Space Station, sending our funds overseas at the price of at least $51 million per seat. Commercial crew will promote greater competition, create new high tech jobs in the U.S. and prevent U.S. taxpayer dollars from being sent overseas.”

“The commercial spaceflight sector appreciates today’s strong endorsement and validation by the Augustine Committee of our industry, and we look forward to strengthening our partnerships with NASA and the US Government to help deliver cargo, fuel, and crew to the International Space Station and for other Low Earth Orbit missions. Commercial Crew in Low Earth Orbit is complementary, not competitive, to NASA exploration beyond Low Earth Orbit,” added Sirangelo.

About Next Step in Space
Next Step in Space is a group of businesses, organizations, and people working toward ensuring the future of commercial human spaceflight in the US. Investment in commercial space will allow for full utilization of the International Space Station, enable NASA to focus its efforts beyond low-Earth orbit, and ensure that taxpayer dollars are reinvested in the US and not spent overseas. Visit us at: www.nextstepinspace.com. Become a fan and show support for commercial spaceflight on the Next Step in Space Facebook fan page at www.facebook.com/nextstepinspace and follow on Twitter @NextStepinSpace.

About the Commercial Spaceflight Federation
The mission of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation (CSF) is to promote the development of commercial human spaceflight, pursue ever higher levels of safety, and share best practices and expertise throughout the industry. CSF member organizations include commercial spaceflight developers, operators, and spaceports. The Commercial Spaceflight Federation is governed by a board of directors, composed of the member companies’ CEO-level officers and entrepreneurs. For more information please visit www.commercialspaceflight.org or contact Executive Director John Gedmark at john@commercialspaceflight.org or at 202.349.1121.

The formal press release can be downloaded here [pdf].

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Today, the Washington Post editorial board offered a strong endorsement of commercial spaceflight for cargo and crew missions to the International Space Station. In today’s paper, the editorial board highlighted the Augustine Committee’s support of commercial spaceflight and wrote, “Now that the station is nearly complete, this might be an optimal time to open [...]

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Today, the Washington Post editorial board offered a strong endorsement of commercial spaceflight for cargo and crew missions to the International Space Station. In today’s paper, the editorial board highlighted the Augustine Committee’s support of commercial spaceflight and wrote, “Now that the station is nearly complete, this might be an optimal time to open space to entrepreneurs. … It’s time to boldly go where no man has gone before. That means opening space to the kind of private-sector competition that revolutionized cyberspace…”

Given the Washington Post endorsement today, we thought it would be timely to list some of the benefits of the $2.5 billion Commercial Crew program advocated by the Augustine Committee in its final public hearing:

Commercial Crew will reduce our dependence on Russia and prevent extra U.S. taxpayer dollars from being sent overseas:
• When the Space Shuttle retires in 2011, the U.S. will purchase seats on Russian Soyuz vehicles to send our astronauts to the $100 billion Space Station, sending our funds overseas at the price of at least $51 million per seat.
• Russian per-seat prices have continued to rise, and without a near-term domestic alternative, we are vulnerable to even greater increases in Russian prices.

Commercial Crew will create jobs across multiple large and small companies:
• Companies that have publicly expressed interest in participating include United Launch Alliance (4000 employees), as well as medium sized companies such as Sierra Nevada Corporation (1600 employees) and SpaceX (800 employees), all companies that have built and flown space hardware in orbit.
• A full Commercial Crew program would leverage private investment to create thousands of jobs in states including Florida, Nevada, Colorado, Virginia, Texas, California, and Alabama.

Commercial Crew offers our best opportunity to reduce the U.S. spaceflight gap:
• Commercial human spaceflight will not require the development of completely new launch vehicles, instead using existing vehicles and those already under development such as the Atlas V, Taurus II, or Falcon 9. Combined, these vehicles are already under contract to fly over 40 flights to orbit in the next four years.
• Only through a Commercial Crew program will it be possible to fully utilize the Space Station for scientific research, expanding the Space Station workforce at several NASA centers.

Commercial Crew will leverage an industry that is already trusted to safely launch multi-billion national security assets and scientific missions:
• The commercial spaceflight industry is already relied upon to launch multi-billion-dollar national security missions, upon which the safety of our nation and our armed forces depends, as well as expensive, one-of-a-kind scientific satellites for government customers including NASA.

To download this one-page Commercial Crew briefing, please click here [pdf].

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Norm Augustine, chair of the White House’s blue-ribbon panel reviewing the space program, recently stated, “NASA ought to be exploring outer space and doing new things, and turning over the transportation of weight and people, goods and people, to low Earth orbit … [as] a commercial endeavor, in our view.” Indeed, the U.S. commercial orbital [...]

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Norm Augustine, chair of the White House’s blue-ribbon panel reviewing the space program, recently stated, “NASA ought to be exploring outer space and doing new things, and turning over the transportation of weight and people, goods and people, to low Earth orbit … [as] a commercial endeavor, in our view.” Indeed, the U.S. commercial orbital spaceflight industry is already entrusted to launch multi-billion-dollar satellites for the national security sector, as well as one-of-a-kind scientific missions for NASA.

The chart below, which we’ve created using publicly available data, illustrates that when you add up the markets represented by NASA, other government agencies, and commercial customers, the commercial orbital spaceflight industry is publicly planning over 40 flights to orbit between now and 2014. This is a robust foundation on which to grow the industry to meet Norm Augustine’s stated goal above.

(click on image below to enlarge)

To download a copy of the Commercial Orbital Spaceflight Industry Timeline, click here [pdf].

Augustine quote source: PBS NewsHour, 8/14/2009.

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This week, the Suborbital Applications Researchers Group (SARG), an advisory committee of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, met at the Boulder, Colorado campus of the Southwest Research Institute to discuss the research and education potential of the new generation of commercial suborbital vehicles. The multi-disciplinary committee discussed a variety of possible missions, ranging from fluid-mechanics [...]

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This week, the Suborbital Applications Researchers Group (SARG), an advisory committee of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, met at the Boulder, Colorado campus of the Southwest Research Institute to discuss the research and education potential of the new generation of commercial suborbital vehicles. The multi-disciplinary committee discussed a variety of possible missions, ranging from fluid-mechanics experiments and atmospheric sampling to life sciences research and low-cost student-built payloads.

After the meeting, SARG member Dr. Daniel Durda, a planetary scientist at the Southwest Research Institute, said, “Hearing my colleagues from other research disciplines describe the new investigations they’re excitedly looking forward to, it’s clear that this next generation of suborbital vehicles has the potential to fundamentally transform the way we think about doing space science.”

Dr. Steven Collicott of Purdue University, who conducts research in fluid physics, added, “Frequent, affordable, and rapid access to low-gravity for research in fluid dynamics and combustion is such a revolution that the positive impact can only be guessed at today. This emerging capability will make many more experiments practical to perform.”

SARG chair Dr. S. Alan Stern, who has previously held the top science position at NASA Headquarters, stated, “SARG recognizes as a committee of researchers across many scientific and engineering fields that the frequent, fast, and low cost access to space that the next-gen piloted suborbital capabilities offer, make these vehicles a true scientific game changer. Their potential for research, training, education, and public outreach from space is simply stunning.”

The group decided that in the next few months, SARG members will reach out to a wide range of colleagues in the scientific, research, and education communities, and help to inform policymakers about the potential of these new vehicles.

Additionally, based on inputs received from the group meeting, John Gedmark, Commercial Spaceflight Federation Executive Director, and Alan Stern, SARG Chair, participated in a discussion panel on commercial suborbital vehicles during the August 19th public hearing of the National Academies’ Committee on NASA’s Suborbital Research Capabilities. This committee has been tasked with studying “the status, capability, and availability of suborbital platforms,” and its final report is expected in early 2010.

For additional information, please see our press release announcement [pdf] on the formation of SARG. To learn more about the research potential of commercial suborbital vehicles being built by companies such as Armadillo Aerospace, Blue Origin, Masten Space Systems, Scaled Composites/Virgin Galactic, and XCOR Aerospace, please visit the Suborbital Research section of our website.

Image credit: City of Boulder

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During this week’s hearing of the White House Review of U.S. Human Space Flight Plans Committee, members of the Committee expressed broad support for expanding the role of commercial spaceflight for delivery of cargo and crew to the International Space Station.
Committee member and MIT professor Ed Crawley stated during the August 12th public hearing that [...]

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During this week’s hearing of the White House Review of U.S. Human Space Flight Plans Committee, members of the Committee expressed broad support for expanding the role of commercial spaceflight for delivery of cargo and crew to the International Space Station.

Committee member and MIT professor Ed Crawley stated during the August 12th public hearing that there is a strong consensus among the Committee that the government should support a vigorous program of developing commercial crew transportation, in addition to the existing COTS program for commercial cargo to the Space Station.

Also during the hearing, astronaut Sally Ride presented a summary slide listing “commercial crew capability to LEO” as an “important component” for future NASA human space flight programs, and said, “we need to get NASA out of the business of getting crew” to Earth orbit.

Committee chairman Norm Augustine, the former CEO of Lockheed Martin, stated in an interview published yesterday on Space.com, “I’ve always believed there was a great commercial role in the unmanned arena, but the more I’ve thought about it, the more I think that applies to the human arena as well.”

These pronouncements, especially when combined with the newly announced NASA CCDev program for design and development of commercial crew spaceflight concepts, show that commercial crew is now being seen as a critical part of US human spaceflight.

Shortly after the Augustine Committee was first convened, members of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation submitted a policy paper [pdf] to the Augustine Committee recommending that NASA expand the strategy of the existing Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program for cargo, by investing in a similar program for commercial crewed spacecraft:

* Ensure vibrant competition through multiple awards – Provide significant funding to support the earliest possible competitive development and demonstration of multiple U.S. commercial crew transportation capabilities.

* Leverage outside investment to reduce risk – Require private sector investment so that commercial companies “have skin in the game.”

* Milestone-based payments for demonstrated performance – Utilize firm-fixed-price Space Act Agreements that pay for performance upon successful completion of program milestones.

* Commitment to purchase services from the winners – Guarantee a minimum purchase of flights for resulting commercial spaceflight services following successful demonstration of vehicle capabilities.

Ultimately, an expanded commercial spaceflight sector will support full utilization of the Space Station, free up NASA resources for exploration, jumpstart private activity in low Earth orbit that will further lower the cost of access to space, and unleash the economic potential of space long promised.

To download the full white paper produced by members of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, please click here [pdf].

Sources: Space.com/Space News, Wall Street Journal

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Washington, D.C. – The Commercial Spaceflight Federation is pleased to announce the creation of the Suborbital Applications Researchers Group (SARG), composed of experienced scientists, researchers, and educators dedicated to furthering the research and education potential of suborbital reusable launch vehicles under development by the commercial spaceflight sector.
The panel is chaired by Dr. S. Alan Stern [...]

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Washington, D.C. – The Commercial Spaceflight Federation is pleased to announce the creation of the Suborbital Applications Researchers Group (SARG), composed of experienced scientists, researchers, and educators dedicated to furthering the research and education potential of suborbital reusable launch vehicles under development by the commercial spaceflight sector.

The panel is chaired by Dr. S. Alan Stern of the Southwest Research Institute, a space scientist who previously served as head of the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters.

The members of the Suborbital Applications Researchers Group (SARG) are aiming to increase awareness of commercial suborbital vehicles in the science and R&D communities, to work with policymakers to ensure that payloads can have easy access to these vehicles, and to further develop ideas for the uses of these vehicles for science, engineering, and education missions.

“The innovative vehicles being developed by a wide range of commercial suborbital companies, including Armadillo Aerospace, Blue Origin, Masten Space Systems, Virgin Galactic, and XCOR Aerospace, represent valuable new capability for scientists, engineers, and educators,” said Alan Stern, Chairman of SARG. “Because some of these vehicles are approaching first flights in 2010 and 2011, it is crucial to start engaging with the broader scientific community as soon as possible to put payloads and scientists on these vehicles.”

In addition to Dr. S. Alan Stern, SARG includes the following members:
• Dr. Steven Collicott, Purdue University – Microgravity Physics
• Dr. Joshua Colwell, University of Central Florida – Microgravity Physics
• Dr. Daniel Durda, Southwest Research Institute – Planetary Science
• Dr. David Grinspoon, Denver Museum of Natural Sciences – Education/Public Outreach
• Dr. Richard Miles, Princeton University – Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
• Dr. John Pojman, Louisiana State University – Microgravity Chemistry
• Dr. Mark Shelhamer, Johns Hopkins University – Space Life Sciences
• Dr. Mike Summers, George Mason University – Atmospheric Sciences
• Dr. Erika Wagner, Massachusetts Institute of Technology – Space Life Sciences

SARG has been officially formed as a coordination and advisory committee of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, with Matthew Isakowitz, Associate Director of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, serving as Program Officer. The first meeting of SARG will occur August 18, in Boulder, Colorado.

About the Suborbital Applications Researchers Group
The Suborbital Applications Researchers Group (SARG) is a coordination and advisory committee of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, composed of scientists and researchers dedicated to furthering the scientific potential of suborbital reusable launch vehicles under development by the commercial spaceflight sector. SARG will seek to increase awareness of commercial suborbital vehicles in the science, R&D, and education communities, work with policymakers to ensure that payloads can have easy access to these vehicles, and aim to generate new ideas for uses of these vehicles for science, engineering, and education missions.

The formal press release can be downloaded here [pdf].

Image credit: XCOR, Armadillo Aerospace, Masten Space Systems, Virgin Galactic

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With NASA’s recent announcement of $50 million of funding for commercial crew technologies, it’s worth taking stock of other recent investments that are now spurring forward the development of a commercial spaceflight industry.
Of the major hurdles that need to be overcome for the commercial spaceflight industry to progress (investment, market, technical, regulatory), it is [...]

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With NASA’s recent announcement of $50 million of funding for commercial crew technologies, it’s worth taking stock of other recent investments that are now spurring forward the development of a commercial spaceflight industry.

Of the major hurdles that need to be overcome for the commercial spaceflight industry to progress (investment, market, technical, regulatory), it is investment that serves as a crucial barometer for industry development as a whole. After all, investors would not be putting their dollars in play if they were not calculating potential returns that justify the risk.

Recently SpaceX secured up to $60 million of investment from Draper Fisher Jurvetson, a top-tier venture capital firm, building on an earlier $20 million investment in SpaceX by the Founders Fund that occurred in 2008.

And last week, Abu Dhabi’s Aabar Investments purchased a 32% stake in Virgin Galactic with a $280 million investment (see image above), resulting in a $900 million valuation for Virgin Galactic. Possibly even more significant was an additional $100 million commitment from Aabar Investments for Virgin Galactic to develop a launch vehicle that, using WhiteKnightTwo as a high-altitude platform, would allow Virgin Galactic to launch small orbital satellites for scientific purposes.

It is through exactly these types of innovative uses of new vehicles that we could see returns for investors well beyond those expected in their original business plans, and it is exciting that investors are already beginning to recognize this potential. Between science missions, educational flights, cutting-edge technology R&D, national security payloads, commercial satellites, missions to the International Space Station, entertainment, film & TV production, corporate sponsorships, and flights of private individuals, the demand for these services continues to diversify and this is a topic you can expect us to expand upon in future analysis on this website.

Image credit: Virgin Galactic / Mark Greenberg

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Today NASA released information regarding its intention to invest $50 million of American Reinvestment and Recovery Act stimulus funding in multiple competitively awarded, funded agreements for commercial crew concepts. This new program, known as the Commercial Crew Development or “CCDev,” represents a new milestone in the development of an orbital commercial human spaceflight sector. [...]

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Today NASA released information regarding its intention to invest $50 million of American Reinvestment and Recovery Act stimulus funding in multiple competitively awarded, funded agreements for commercial crew concepts. This new program, known as the Commercial Crew Development or “CCDev,” represents a new milestone in the development of an orbital commercial human spaceflight sector. By maturing “the design and development of commercial crew spaceflight concepts and associated enabling technologies and capabilities,” the program will allow several companies to move a few steps forward towards the ultimate goal of full demonstration of commercial human spaceflight to orbit.

According to the solicitation, “NASA’s Commercial Crew and Cargo Program is applying Recovery Act funds to stimulate efforts within the private sector to develop and demonstrate human spaceflight capabilities. These efforts are intended to foster entrepreneurial activity leading to job growth in engineering, analysis, design, and research, and to economic growth as capabilities for new markets are created. By developing commercial crew service providers, NASA may be able to reduce the gap in U.S. human spaceflight capability.”

Full details from today’s NASA release can be found by clicking here.

NASA has also established a website for the new CCDev procurement, accessible at: http://procurement.jsc.nasa.gov/ccdev/.

Proposals are due September 22, 2009 and a pre-proposal “Industry Day” will occur at the NASA Johnson Space Center on August 13, 2009. Pursuant to the requirements of the 2009 Recovery Act, the funds will need to be fully spent by September 30, 2010.

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Washington, D.C. – The Commercial Spaceflight Federation today announced the appointment of Makovsky + Company, one of the nation’s largest independent public relations firms, as its public relations advisor. Makovsky, which was recently recognized as the “Public Relations Agency of the Year” by the American Business Awards, will provide public relations, traditional and social media [...]

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Washington, D.C. – The Commercial Spaceflight Federation today announced the appointment of Makovsky + Company, one of the nation’s largest independent public relations firms, as its public relations advisor. Makovsky, which was recently recognized as the “Public Relations Agency of the Year” by the American Business Awards, will provide public relations, traditional and social media relations and public affairs counsel to the Federation.

“Makovsky’s deep understanding of the commercial spaceflight industry and their expertise in traditional and social media make them a valuable partner,” said Brett Alexander, President of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation. “We look forward to working with this talented organization to increase awareness of the industry’s importance among leaders in government and the public at-large.”

“While many people are reflecting on the 40th anniversary of the moon landing, it’s critical that we look at what’s ahead,” said David Rosen, Group Vice President, Makovsky + Company. “The commercial spaceflight industry can make significant contributions to both our economy and body of scientific knowledge, but not until its model and vision are better understood by business and government leaders.”

About Makovsky + Company
Founded in 1979, Makovsky + Company (www.makovsky.com) is one of the nation’s leading independent global public relations and investor relations consultancies, focused in financial services, professional services, health care, technology, branding and investor relations. The firm attributes its success to its original vision: that the Power of Specialized Thinking™ is the best way to build reputation, sales and fair valuation for a client. Based in New York City, the firm has agency partners in more than 20 countries and in 35 U.S. cities through IPREX (IPREX.com), the third largest worldwide public relations agency partnership, of which Makovsky is a founder.

The official press release, issued jointly with Makovsky + Company, can be downloaded here [pdf].

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Earlier today, WhiteKnightTwo, the carrier aircraft for Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo, made its fly-in debut for the general public at the annual EAA Oshkosh air show in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. WhiteKnightTwo landed at Oshkosh after flying from Mojave, California, home of manufacturer Scaled Composites.
The weeklong EAA AirVenture at Oshkosh draws hundreds of thousands of aviation [...]

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Earlier today, WhiteKnightTwo, the carrier aircraft for Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo, made its fly-in debut for the general public at the annual EAA Oshkosh air show in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. WhiteKnightTwo landed at Oshkosh after flying from Mojave, California, home of manufacturer Scaled Composites.

The weeklong EAA AirVenture at Oshkosh draws hundreds of thousands of aviation and space enthusiasts from across the world, many of whom fly in on their own personal aircraft, temporarily granting Oshkosh’s Wittman Regional Airport the title of busiest control tower in the country.

WhiteKnightTwo, with a wingspan of about 140 feet, is the largest all-carbon-composite airplane in the world. This lightweight but strong material gives WhiteKnightTwo the lifting capacity it will need to transport the eight-seat SpaceShipTwo vehicle to launch altitude for Virgin Galactic’s planned suborbital flights.

Congratulations to the WhiteKnightTwo team for another milestone flight!

Picture credit: EAA Inc.

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Kennedy Space Center, Florida – Space Florida hosted a group of spaceport leaders from around the globe to attend the Commercial Spaceflight Federation’s Spaceport Executive Summit, the first such event of its kind.
The Spaceports Executive Summit, held in conjunction with the 2009 International Space Development Conference, provided a venue for global spaceport leaders to come [...]

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Kennedy Space Center, Florida – Space Florida hosted a group of spaceport leaders from around the globe to attend the Commercial Spaceflight Federation’s Spaceport Executive Summit, the first such event of its kind.

The Spaceports Executive Summit, held in conjunction with the 2009 International Space Development Conference, provided a venue for global spaceport leaders to come together in one setting to discuss best practices and challenges they face in further developing their spaceports.

As part of the summit, Space Florida, a member of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, sponsored a tour of major launch sites at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS).

“Convening this assembly of spaceport leaders from around the world was Space Florida’s first opportunity to communicate and display all that is going on in Florida,” noted Space Florida Interim President Frank DiBello. “The focus was dialog about common challenges and opportunities between industry leaders, and we look forward to continuing long-term and robust collaborative efforts.”

Bretton Alexander, President of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, added, “Florida has been the center of gravity for our nation’s space launch program for NASA and the DoD for over 50 years. This world-class venue is a worthy back-drop for these leaders from spaceport projects around the world to discuss their common challenges.”

Principals from a total of nine spaceports participated in the Spaceports Summit discussions, including:
• Spaceport America in New Mexico
• Mojave Air and Space Port
• Oklahoma Space Development Authority
• Cecil Field
• Spaceport Indiana
• Aeroports de Catalunya
• Caribbean Spaceport
• Spaceport Hawaii
• Wisconsin Space Authority

“Bringing together nine different spaceports to discuss common issues was tremendously useful to both large and small spaceports alike,” said Stuart O. Witt, General Manager of the Mojave Spaceport and an Officer of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation. “At the conclusion of the summit, the nine spaceport leaders all resolved to continue working together and strengthen their efforts for cooperation and collaboration.”

The official press release, issued jointly with Space Florida, can be downloaded here [pdf].

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Armadillo Aerospace conducted two groundbreaking atmospheric test flights this weekend with their “Mod” vertical-takeoff-vertical-landing rocket, a vehicle familiar to anyone who has followed NASA’s Lunar Lander Challenge competitions.
Flying from their test facility in Caddo Mills, Texas, Armadillo Aerospace first completed a milestone flight under a NASA contract, using methane fuel and liquid oxygen as propellant. [...]

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Armadillo Aerospace conducted two groundbreaking atmospheric test flights this weekend with their “Mod” vertical-takeoff-vertical-landing rocket, a vehicle familiar to anyone who has followed NASA’s Lunar Lander Challenge competitions.

Flying from their test facility in Caddo Mills, Texas, Armadillo Aerospace first completed a milestone flight under a NASA contract, using methane fuel and liquid oxygen as propellant. Later that same afternoon, a second successful low-altitude flight was performed using a “boosted hop” trajectory of the same type that will be used for suborbital flights to space. The “boosted hop” trajectory allowed the vehicle to maintain a reduced-g environment through closed loop throttle control, a technique that opens the door for future flights for microgravity science, technology development, and education missions.

Professor Steven Collicott of Purdue University was on hand to watch the launch. Professor Collicott has been leading a group of Purdue University students in developing a fluid-mechanics science payload that they plan to fly soon on board the Armadillo Aerospace vehicles under an agreement developed by the Commercial Spaceflight Federation.

“Seeing the latest Armadillo Aerospace launches in person was a thrill. We’re very excited about the reduced-gravity experiment value of these innovative Armadillo rockets. In addition, there is nothing like seeing a launch live to get people and especially students excited about aerospace technology,” said Professor Collicott. “Armadillo’s eager leadership in moving student sub-orbital rocket experiments from dreams to reality is already impacting the next generation of aerospace engineers in a uniquely powerful way,” Professor Collicott concluded.

The work between Purdue University and Armadillo Aerospace is serving as a pathfinder effort for future integration of other science payloads on commercial suborbital vehicles. Large numbers of research flights on a variety of suborbital vehicles are envisioned under NASA’s Commercial Suborbital Research Program, based at the NASA Ames Research Center, and scientists are eager to begin working with vehicle developers to get experience integrating science payloads with vehicles.

Image Credit: Armadillo Aerospace

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Four decades after Neil Armstrong’s famous small step, the men and women of America’s commercial spaceflight industry are working hard to launch a new era of space exploration.
As NASA pursues new expeditions to the Moon and Mars, the commercial spaceflight sector is creating new jobs, building a new generation of low-cost launch vehicles, and developing [...]

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Four decades after Neil Armstrong’s famous small step, the men and women of America’s commercial spaceflight industry are working hard to launch a new era of space exploration.

As NASA pursues new expeditions to the Moon and Mars, the commercial spaceflight sector is creating new jobs, building a new generation of low-cost launch vehicles, and developing a network of spaceports across the country.

Despite this optimistic picture of the future of space exploration, a serious problem remains. Eighteen months from now, with the retirement of the space shuttle, America will be dependent on foreign countries to put astronauts into space—sending hundreds of millions of dollars overseas.

To solve this problem, America should leverage the growing capabilities of the commercial spaceflight sector for Low Earth Orbit crew transportation.  On the 40^th anniversary of Apollo, the moment is right for investment in U.S. commercial human space flight.

This message is being put forward by a new website launching today, www.NextStepInSpace.com, as well as ads today in Roll Call and Space News.

This advocacy campaign has been launched with support from: Associated Industries of Florida, Commercial Spaceflight Federation, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Esther Dyson/ED Ventures, National AeroSpace Training and Research Center (NASTAR Center), Odyssey Moon LLC, Odyssey Space Research, Sierra Nevada Corporation, Space Adventures, Space Florida, Space Frontier Foundation, SpaceX, Virgin Galactic, and the X-Prize Foundation.

It’s time for our nation to take the next step in space.  For more, please see www.NextStepInSpace.com.

Photo credit: NASA

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Washington, DC – The Commercial Spaceflight Federation extends a warm welcome to Charles Bolden, the incoming NASA Administrator, and Lori Garver, the incoming NASA Deputy Administrator, who have been unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate.
“Charles Bolden and Lori Garver are held in high regard by the aerospace community, and we congratulate both of them [...]

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Washington, DC – The Commercial Spaceflight Federation extends a warm welcome to Charles Bolden, the incoming NASA Administrator, and Lori Garver, the incoming NASA Deputy Administrator, who have been unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate.

“Charles Bolden and Lori Garver are held in high regard by the aerospace community, and we congratulate both of them on their unanimous confirmation by the Senate,” said Bretton Alexander, President of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation. “The coming months will be critical for the future of America’s space program, and we look forward to working with the new Administrator and Deputy Administrator as they help NASA to reach new heights.”

“Today is an exciting day for the commercial spaceflight industry,” said Mark Sirangelo, Chairman of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation. “During their confirmation hearings earlier this month, Charles Bolden and Lori Garver both spoke very positively about the integral role of commercial spaceflight to our nation’s future in space. As we mark the 40th anniversary of the first Apollo moon landings, the commercial spaceflight industry stands ready to work hand-in-hand with NASA’s new leadership.”

About the Commercial Spaceflight Federation
The mission of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation (CSF) is to promote the development of commercial human spaceflight, pursue ever higher levels of safety, and share best practices and expertise throughout the industry. Commercial Spaceflight Federation member organizations include commercial spaceflight developers, operators, and spaceports. The Commercial Spaceflight Federation is governed by a board of directors, composed of the member companies’ CEO-level officers and entrepreneurs.

Click here to download the official pdf version of this press release.

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Congratulations to SpaceX on their successful launch of Malaysia’s Razaksat satellite by the Falcon 1 launch vehicle. The Falcon 1 already holds the title of the first all-liquid-fuel commercial launch vehicle to reach orbit, and today’s mission marks a new milestone on the path towards the larger Falcon 9 vehicle, which NASA will use [...]

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Congratulations to SpaceX on their successful launch of Malaysia’s Razaksat satellite by the Falcon 1 launch vehicle. The Falcon 1 already holds the title of the first all-liquid-fuel commercial launch vehicle to reach orbit, and today’s mission marks a new milestone on the path towards the larger Falcon 9 vehicle, which NASA will use to help re-supply the International Space Station.

These Falcon 9 cargo missions, along with additional missions by the Taurus II rocket from Orbital Sciences Corporation, will be crucial to the continued success of the International Space Station once the space shuttle retires. Additionally, SpaceX is one of several companies aiming toward orbital commercial human spaceflight missions.

Members of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation recently submitted a formal policy proposal to the White House’s Augustine Committee studying human spaceflight, proposing that NASA create a robust commercial crew program for the International Space Station. The policy paper also offered specific strategies for successful implementation of such a program.

The Falcon 1 launch occurred on July 13th at 11:35 pm Eastern time, from the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands. The proximity of this Pacific Ocean launchpad to the equator, where the Earth’s rotation is fastest, gives the Falcon 1 a free speed boost that enables larger payloads. During the launch, the first stage Merlin engine fired for approximately 2.5 minutes, after which the second stage Kestrel engine provided the remaining thrust to achieve a parking orbit, with engine cutoff about 10 minutes after launch. After coasting in space for about 50 minutes, the Kestrel engine re-ignited to successfully place the Razaksat satellite into the desired final orbit.

Image Credit: SpaceX

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Interest in the use of commercial suborbital vehicles for science and research missions has been one of the most exciting developments for our industry over the past year. We’ve seen a diverse cross-section of interest in the various capabilities of these new commercial vehicles, and it quickly became apparent this is not simply a [...]

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Interest in the use of commercial suborbital vehicles for science and research missions has been one of the most exciting developments for our industry over the past year. We’ve seen a diverse cross-section of interest in the various capabilities of these new commercial vehicles, and it quickly became apparent this is not simply a matter of driving down costs when compared to traditional suborbital platforms like sounding rockets and balloons. A variety of unique and creative ideas for making use of these vehicles have surfaced due to our industry’s direct engagement with the scientific community.

For example, flexibility to launch from a number of different locations, along with the ability to fly a variety of flight profiles, will open up new earth and space science applications at the upper reaches of the Earth’s atmosphere. New microgravity life science research will be enabled by quick and easy access to payloads during flights and the option of conducting human-tended experiments. And the large number of private individuals that will fly in space could allow the research community to quickly build up a large database on human physiological responses in microgravity, data that could be invaluable for future space missions.

Here’s a great chart put together at NASA’s Ames Research Center comparing suborbital capabilities:

Credit: NASA Ames Research Center/Lynn Harper

The programs and plans that will allow scientists to take advantage of these new vehicles are developing in real time, so you’ll be hearing a lot more about these scientific efforts on the pages of this website over the next few weeks and months. In the meantime, please take a minute to check out the results from the two workshops we organized that attracted over 200 participants from various fields:

• Dec ‘08 workshop focused on earth & space sciences: see report of Dec-08 results [pdf].

• May ‘09 workshop focused on life sciences & microgravity: see report of May-09 results [pdf].

You can find even more detail at the Commercial Suborbital Research Program portal where presentations from scientists, engineers, and NASA personnel have been posted, and if you are interested in learning more please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Be sure to check back soon since we continue to post more information as these programs develop.

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Washington, DC – Enabling the development of commercial crew and cargo transportation to the International Space Station is the central recommendation of a policy paper submitted by members of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation to the Review of U.S. Human Space Flight Plans Committee, also known as the Augustine Committee.
“In less than 18 months, when the [...]

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Washington, DC – Enabling the development of commercial crew and cargo transportation to the International Space Station is the central recommendation of a policy paper submitted by members of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation to the Review of U.S. Human Space Flight Plans Committee, also known as the Augustine Committee.

“In less than 18 months, when the space shuttle is planned for retirement, the United States will become solely dependent on Russia to send our astronauts to the Space Station,” said Bretton Alexander, President of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation. “By leveraging the private sector, America can maximize our utilization of the Space Station and ensure that NASA has more resources available for robust exploration of the Moon and beyond.”

To download the full press release, please click here [pdf].

To download the full policy paper, please click here [pdf].

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Today’s groundbreaking ceremony for Spaceport America, located near Las Cruces, New Mexico, marks the start of on-site construction to enable commercial suborbital space flights by anchor tenant Virgin Galactic.
Featured speakers included Bill Richardson, Governor of New Mexico; Steve Landeene, the Executive Director of Spaceport America; and Will Whitehorn, President of Virgin Galactic and [...]

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Today’s groundbreaking ceremony for Spaceport America, located near Las Cruces, New Mexico, marks the start of on-site construction to enable commercial suborbital space flights by anchor tenant Virgin Galactic.

Featured speakers included Bill Richardson, Governor of New Mexico; Steve Landeene, the Executive Director of Spaceport America; and Will Whitehorn, President of Virgin Galactic and an Officer in the Commercial Spaceflight Federation.

Adding to the excitement surrounding the ceremony, Will Whitehorn, President of Virgin Galactic, announced that the Scaled Composites SpaceShipTwo, the eight-seat vehicle that will be carried to launch altitude by WhiteKnightTwo, will be unveiled in December.

Picture credit: Spaceport America, URS/Foster + Partners, Vyonyx Ltd

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Welcome to our newly updated and enhanced website! Here at the Commercial Spaceflight Federation (previously known as the “Personal Spaceflight Federation”), we may be on the verge of the most exciting time for the space industry in more than 30 years: a new generation of low-cost commercial spaceflight vehicles are nearing the launch pad, [...]

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Welcome to our newly updated and enhanced website! Here at the Commercial Spaceflight Federation (previously known as the “Personal Spaceflight Federation”), we may be on the verge of the most exciting time for the space industry in more than 30 years: a new generation of low-cost commercial spaceflight vehicles are nearing the launch pad, spaceports are being built and expanded, and a network of suppliers is springing up to accelerate industry progress.

To help policymakers, industry members, and the public keep track of these exciting developments, the Commercial Spaceflight Federation is pleased to introduce our new website. We will be sure to update you on the latest happenings in the commercial spaceflight industry, including vehicle development milestones, test flights, and policy developments in Washington DC. Please stay tuned as more content is unveiled over the next few months. Also, please see the text of our formal press release, announcing our new name, below:

Washington, DC – Monday, June 15th, 2009 – The industry association of companies seeking to make commercial human spaceflight a reality has rolled out a new website and a new name. The Commercial Spaceflight Federation, previously known as the Personal Spaceflight Federation, instituted the changes after a review of the organization’s messaging by industry leaders at a recent board meeting.

The emphasis on commercial spaceflight recognizes the diverse business activities of the commercial human spaceflight industry, according to Bretton Alexander, President of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation (CSF). “There are so many uses for commercial access to space,” said Alexander, “and we want to emphasize the broad cross-section of potential markets for our members’ products and services.”

The markets being pursued by commercial spaceflight companies include cargo and crew transportation to the International Space Station, flights of private individuals (so-called “space tourism”), science research missions, technology research and development, astronaut training, education and outreach activities, and national security applications.

“Even in this tough economic climate the commercial spaceflight industry is still growing and creating high-tech jobs – a lot of that comes from a new realization of how broadly these capabilities can be used,” said CSF Executive Director John Gedmark. “Our companies are on the forefront of major innovation, and through our new website people will be hearing much more about that in the months to come. We’re looking forward to a steady stream of exciting developments in the commercial spaceflight sector in these critical next few years.”

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Washington, D.C. – The Commercial Spaceflight Federation, the industry association of leading businesses and organizations working to make commercial human spaceflight a reality, has selected a new Chairman of the Board, Mark N. Sirangelo of the Sierra Nevada Corporation. Sirangelo and a new slate of officers for the Commercial Spaceflight Federation were elected at a [...]

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Washington, D.C. – The Commercial Spaceflight Federation, the industry association of leading businesses and organizations working to make commercial human spaceflight a reality, has selected a new Chairman of the Board, Mark N. Sirangelo of the Sierra Nevada Corporation. Sirangelo and a new slate of officers for the Commercial Spaceflight Federation were elected at a recent board meeting by a diverse cross-section of industry leaders.

Mr. Sirangelo is Executive Vice-President of Sierra Nevada Corporation and Chairman of the Board for SNC Space Systems, and most recently served as Chairman and CEO of SpaceDev, Inc., which has now merged with Sierra Nevada Corporation.

In addition, the Commercial Spaceflight Federation (CSF) has elected a slate of senior space industry executives as officers. The new officers include: Eric Anderson, CEO of Space Adventures; Jeff Greason, CEO of XCOR Aerospace; Gwynne Shotwell, President of SpaceX; Will Whitehorn, President of Virgin Galactic; and Stuart O. Witt, General Manager of the Mojave Spaceport.

Having completed his three-year term as Chairman, Alex Tai, a Virgin Group Director, welcomed his replacement. “Mark is a fantastic selection to lead this industry in such a critical time. His experience running both small and large aerospace and technical companies, combined with his technical and policy expertise, make him a natural choice.”

“The next few years will be a turning point for commercial spaceflight, with both suborbital and orbital efforts,” said Mr. Sirangelo. “I’m looking forward to working with the rest of the board and with the CSF staff as we continue expanding the commercial space industry.”

About Mark N. Sirangelo
Mr. Sirangelo is currently Executive Vice President of Sierra Nevada Corporation and is responsible for SNC’s Space Systems Group. He was the Chairman/CEO of SpaceDev, Inc., prior to its merging with SNC. Prior to SpaceDev, he was the CEO of an advanced technology commercialization company and a major global communications firm. Corporate and personal awards include induction into the NASA/Space Foundation’s Hall of Fame, Defense Industry Fast Track 50, Deloitte’s Fast Track 500, E&Y’s Entrepreneur of the Year and Inc. Magazine’s top 200 companies. Mr. Sirangelo holds Doctorate, MBA and Bachelor of Science degrees, has been scientifically published, and has served as an officer in the US Military. Mr. Sirangelo’s other board memberships include the Center for Space Entrepreneurship, the California Space Authority, the National Center for Missing Children and the Int’l Centre for Children.

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Washington, D.C. – The Commercial Spaceflight Federation applauds President Obama’s nomination of General Charles Bolden as Administrator of NASA and Lori Garver as Deputy Administrator of NASA. General Bolden has spent his life in service to our nation, including advancing American leadership in space, and Lori Garver has an unparalleled mastery of the policy [...]

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Washington, D.C. – The Commercial Spaceflight Federation applauds President Obama’s nomination of General Charles Bolden as Administrator of NASA and Lori Garver as Deputy Administrator of NASA. General Bolden has spent his life in service to our nation, including advancing American leadership in space, and Lori Garver has an unparalleled mastery of the policy and programmatic challenges of space exploration. The Commercial Spaceflight Federation looks forward to working with the new NASA Administrator, Deputy Administrator, and the entire leadership team.

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The blue-ribbon panel announced by the Obama Administration to review the path forward for U.S. human space flight activities includes “stimulating commercial space flight capabilities” as one of four objectives. The panel, chaired by longtime aerospace executive Norm Augustine, was formed to ensure that “the nation is on a vigorous and sustainable path to [...]

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The blue-ribbon panel announced by the Obama Administration to review the path forward for U.S. human space flight activities includes “stimulating commercial space flight capabilities” as one of four objectives. The panel, chaired by longtime aerospace executive Norm Augustine, was formed to ensure that “the nation is on a vigorous and sustainable path to achieving its boldest aspirations in space.”

Commercial spaceflight capabilities in low earth orbit are critical to freeing up NASA’s resources to push forward the frontiers by going back to the Moon and on to Mars, and the Commercial Spaceflight Federation applauds the Obama Administration’s decision to include commercial spaceflight capabilities as a key component of the review.

Additionally, the Commercial Spaceflight Federation wishes to congratulate Jeff Greason, CEO of XCOR Aerospace and a CSF Officer, on having been selected to serve on the blue-ribbon Augustine Panel. Mr. Greason has deep experience with the commercial spaceflight industry and is well-acquainted with the engineering, political, and economic issues that define the space sector.

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Press releases from before June 2009 can be found at the “Press Releases” section of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation website, under the “News” menu option at the top of the page. Thank you!

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Press releases from before June 2009 can be found at the “Press Releases” section of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation website, under the “News” menu option at the top of the page. Thank you!

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